WCCHS Academic and
Transcript Policies
The following academic
regulations apply to all students in the WCCHS School. It is the responsibility
of all students to adhere to them. All regulations require interpretation;
however, students who feel that extenuating circumstances warrant an exception
to any of the following regulations should discuss their situation with the
WCCHS Academic Director. All students are expected to familiarize themselves
with the contents of this publication.
Graduation Requirements
WCCHS meets graduation
requirements of CA Ed Code 51225.3. Currently WCCHS is applying for UCOP for
our courses which qualify for a-g credit.
Every semester course is
worth 5 credits. Graduating students must earn a minimum of 240 credits in
subject matter, consistent with CA Ed Code 51225.3, in the following manner:
|
Three years of English at
9th-grade level or above |
30 credits |
|
Three years of Math (with
10 credits at Algebra I or higher) |
30 credits |
|
Three years of
History/Social Science, including one year of U.S. History & Geography;
one year of World History, Culture, and Geography; and one semester each of
American Government and Economics |
30 credits |
|
Two years of Laboratory
Science, including one year of Biology and one year of Physical Science |
20 credits |
|
Two years of a Foreign
Language |
20 credits |
|
One year of a Performing
or Visual Art |
10 credits |
|
Two years of Physical
Education |
20 credits |
|
One year of the Learning
to Learn course (completed by end of 10th grade) |
10 credits |
|
One year of the Leadership
course (completed by end of 11th grade) |
10 credits |
|
Four “Be The Change”
semester-long projects, one completed each grade culminating in a senior
graduation project |
20 credits |
|
Two years (or four
semesters of) academic electives (additional English, Math, Social Science,
or Science) |
20 credits |
|
Two years of free
electives, taken from any class and may include internships, projects, and
independent study courses |
20 credits |
WCCHS reserves the option to
modify graduation requirements for students with Special Needs where prescribed
by their IEP; however, such modifications and accommodations will still be
consistent with State Graduation Requirements.
Legislative Consortia and Judicial
Consortia count as "academic electives". In certain cases, a student may elect to take
these courses for "civics" credit but it will not count towards UC admissions. If a student wants
to take over one year of LC or JC, they may elect to do so in lieu of a "Be the Change" class.
Registration in
Courses and Withdrawal
A. Course
Registration
It is the responsibility of all students to select
their next semester's courses with the assistance of their program coordinator.
* Incoming
students register for their first semester classes during the summer
orientation period.
* Currently
enrolled students will be taken out of the community space or, when necessary,
class-time, for course registration
B. Course
Registration Changes
* Add/Drop
Period: students may add or drop a course continuously beginning with their
individual starting times through the 3rd calendar week of the semester. A
course dropped during this period will not be recorded on the student's
transcript, and the student will receive full credit for the course they
transfer to.
*If a student changes
classes within the 3-week add/drop period they will still receive full credit
for the new class. However, the letter grade does not carry over into new
class. All course changes must be
approved by both directors, teachers of the classes involved, and the learner’s
parent or guardian, and no change
is valid without the proper form
* Withdrawal
Period: students may withdraw from a course, with the instructor's and WCCHS
Director's signatures, from the 3rd calendar week of the semester through the
mid-semester date published in the academic calendar. Students who drop courses
during this period will receive a grade of W (Withdrawn) for the course.
C. Withdrawal
from School
Withdrawal can
be either voluntary or administrative.
* Voluntary
withdrawal: a family who wishes to voluntarily withdraw their student from
school at any time must meet with the WCCHS Director.
* Administrative
withdrawal: a student may be expelled from WCCHS as described in our discipline
policy.
D.
Readmission after Withdrawal
A student who
has been suspended or dismissed from WCCHS must reapply and meet with the
directors.
Grading System and
Transcripts
A letter grading
system is used as a means of measuring as fairly as possible both the quality
and overall performance of a student's work.
At any time in
the grading period, parents and students may view their grades from the
website: www.gradebookwizard.com
A.
Calculating G.P.A
Effective Fall
2007, the following letter grades and assigned quality points are as follows:
Letter Grade
A 4.000
B 3.000
C 2.000
D 1.000
F 0.000
INC 0.000 (Incomplete calculates as an F until
final grade is received)
____ 0.000 (Blank grade calculates as an F)
Other grade
symbols NOT included in quality point calculations are:
CR Graduation Credit
P Pass
(added to graduation credits)
W Withdrawn
Y Year-long
course in progress
To calculate
your Grade Point Average (GPA) for a semester:
1. Find the Grade Point Equivalent for
each class grade.
2. Multiply the Grade Point Equivalent by
the number of Credits.
3. Add the Total Points earned for each
course.
4. Add the Total Credits attempted in
those GRADED courses (do NOT include credits in a course for which you earned a
P or W).
5. Divide the Total Grade Points earned by
the Total Graded Credits.
B. Grade
Changes
Final grades may be changed
only when requested, in writing, by the instructor of the course. Final
approval for a grade change must come from both Directors, and must be
documented by the grade change form.
No grade change is valid without the proper form.
C.
Incompletes
WCCHS allows for
a grade of “Incomplete” for a class where a reasonable need for an extension of
deadlines is determined by the classroom teacher. Please note that when courses
are recorded as Incomplete, the addition of credits without points will result
in a lowering of the grade point average.
In other words, getting an Incomplete can place a student in jeopardy;
it should not be viewed as a way to avoid getting a failing grade.
Students who are
unable to complete course requirements within the allotted time due to
significant extenuating circumstances may request a grade of Incomplete (INC)
from the instructor of the course. Normally, an Incomplete is warranted only if
a student is passing the course at the time the request is made. An Incomplete
is averaged in the cumulative average as an "F," and must be resolved
by the student as soon as possible, but not later than the last week of classes
of the following semester.
D. Repeated
Courses
Students may repeat up to
five courses in which they earned grades of C-, D+, D, or F. Both grades will
appear on the transcript; however, only the second grade will be calculated
into the cumulative grade point average. However, if a student takes a course a
third time, the last two grades will be factored into the cumulative grade
point average. The credits will only be counted once.
E. Continuing
and Concurrent Education Courses
Students who take
concurrent courses at a community college or other institutions may have their
credits count towards WCCHS graduation requirements at the transfer rate of 3.5 credits per unit of community college class.
To
earn WCCHS credit for a course, a transcript or official from the concurrent
institution must be presented to WCCHS Directors.
F. Pass/Fail
Option
Academic courses may not be
taken for Pass/Fail credit; however, some non-academic credits, at the
discretion of the instructor, may be taken as Pass/Fail. Pass/Fail classes will not count
towards a student’s GPA but they will still earn credit for the class.
G. Honors
Students with
a G.P.A of 3.3 or higher will be
placed on the Academic Honors list.
H. Retention
Consistent with the District policy (BP 5123) of utilizing
retention when students are in danger of lacking either the skills or credits necessary for graduation, WCCHS will promote to
the next grade level students who pass with a ‘D’ or better in 4 or more classes including the ‘core’ classesin which the student is enrolled, (Core classes are defined as English, Math, Physical or Life Sciences, and Social Sciences.) All other students are subject to retention.
I. Conditional Promotion
In cases where the student has not earned sufficient credits for promotion, but the Directors and teachers believe that promotion may be advantageous, WCCHS reserves the right to conditionally promote a student to the next grade laying out specific conditions that must be met to maintain status or be retained.
J. Appeals
Parents may appeal decisions regarding promotions and retentions to the WCCHS School Board by contacting any Board Member and having their case placed on the agenda for consideration at the next scheduled Board Meeting. Parents will have the right to have their case heard in closed session. Deliberations will be made privately.
Transfers
WCCHS makes
every effort to fairly consider the credits that students bring when they
transfer to the school, within restrictions placed upon the school by State
law.
A. Earning Credits for
students who attend WCCHS for less than full 18 weeks of the semester.
Students who attend WCCHS
for 4.5 weeks or less earn 0 credits/units.
Students who attend WCCHS
for 4.5 to 13.5 weeks earn pro rated credits calculated as a fraction of the
possible 5 credits for a full 18 weeks.
Students who attend WCCHS for greater than 13.5 weeks but less than 18 weeks will receive the full 5 credits upon passing each class.
Prior to the adoption of
this policy, all students who exited WCCHS before the end of the semester will
receive pro-rated credits from WCCHS
B. Students who transfer into
WCCHS in the middle of the semester.
If a student enters WCCHS
and we receive transcripts from previous schools we will transfer the
credits/units the student has been given by that school assuming we can apply
to a comparable to WCCHS approved subject area. Otherwise we will only give credit for course work done
while enrolled at WCCHS.
Prior to the enactment of
this policy students receive full credit for the classes they are enrolled in
at the end of the semester and no credit for previous classes.