Scheduling Guidelines & Academic Policy

All students of the District have equal educational opportunities. Students have the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, citizenship status, religion, sex, economic status, marital status, pregnancy, age or disability, in all decisions affecting admissions; membership in school sponsored organizations, clubs or activities; access to facilities; distribution of funds; academic evaluations or any other aspect of school sponsored activities. Any limitations with regard to participation in a school sponsored activity are based on criteria related to that specific activity.

FERPA - The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords parents and students who are 18 years of age or older (“eligible students”) certain rights with respect to the student’s education records.  These rights are:

1. The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days after the day that our school receives a request for access.
2. The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the parent or eligible student believes are inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERP
3. The right to provide written consent before the school discloses personally identifiable information from the student’s education re- cords, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without The written consent should be received by the school registrar within two weeks of the beginning of school.
4. The right to file a complaint with the S. Department of Edu- cation concerning alleged failures by the school to comply with the requirements of FERPA.

Academic Integrity Background: At Worthington Schools, we believe the students, staff and community are stakeholders in the climate and culture of our school. The school was founded on the belief that all students can and must learn in order to achieve success in our society.  The community and staff further believe that success begins with personal and academic integrity, which are grounded in honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility.

Academic and personal integrity are built upon continuous conversations about how these five values are embodied throughout our school.  It is our belief that the pursuit of truth, the promotion of learning and the development of lifelong learners are indeed the conduit to personal success in our school and our democracy. Raising the level of student integrity should remain our highest priority as a community of lifelong learners. In the spirit of that pursuit, the Academic Integrity Committee of Worthington Schools offered the following:

Culture - The values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility are worthy of our pursuit at our school. We strive to ensure success, exhibit integrity and serve humanity through these five essential values. Any lapse in exhibiting these values by any stakeholder does not condone misconduct of another stakeholder.

Honesty - Honesty is the foundation of teaching, learning, research and service. It is the prerequisite for full realization of trust, fairness, respect and responsibility.  Policies at our school uniformly deplore cheating, lying, fraud, misrepresentation, theft and other forms of dishonest behaviors that jeopardize the rights and welfare of our learning community.

Trust - Mutual trust is formed in an academic community that celebrates the free exchange of ideas. Trust enables us to reach our full potential as human beings. Our school believes people respond to consistent honesty with trust. Only with trust can our learning community believe in the social value inherent in academic inquiry, scholarship and integrity.

Fairness - Fairness evolves from predictability, clear expectations, consistency, careful listening and just responses to dishonesty. All students and staff have a role in ensuring an environment embracing fairness.

Respect - Respect is one of the rich rewards of an environment built on fairness. Teaching and learning demand active engagement and mutual respect.  Students and faculty must respect their individual roles in order to appreciate diversity, learn and test new skills, build community and grow from failures.  The antithesis of respect is being rude, sarcastic, demeaning or disruptive to others.

Responsibility - Responsibility requires that each stakeholder protect the integrity of the learning climate.  Each person in the school community must be responsible for his/her own honesty and personal responsibility and to encourage positive conduct by others.

Guidelines:  Absolute integrity is expected of everyone in our schools.  Academic and personal integrity entail a firm adherence to a set of values essential to an academic community grounded in honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility for all.

In honor of the five essential values, the faculty commits to the following:

• develop procedures for constructive feedback on all student endeavors
• give no student unfair advantage or disadvantage;
• be open to all student concerns;
• keep students and parents informed of student progress;
• set clear guidelines for assignments and evaluationof work;
• collaborate with each other to assist learners and notparticipate in gossip;
• follow school policies in responding to dishonesty;
• cultivate and model respect through regular attendance,punctuality and preparedness;
• incorporate current knowledge and practices;
• respect others work by citing sour

Faculty, staff and parents expect students to honor the five essential values.  Students will:

• model, encourage and support each other in maintaining academic integrity;
• treat all individuals, ideas, environment and property with respect, courtesy and dignity;
• respond honestly when asked about issues of fairness for themselves and others despite peer pressure, fear, loyalty, or compassion;
• cultivate and model respect through regular attendance, punctuality and preparedness;
• follow school rules in responding to dishonesty;
• prepare and submit their own work including that which is cited;
• collaborate with others when appropriate;
• use their positions, roles or memberships fairly and honestly.

Violations - The following are examples of activities that violate the CODE of ACADEMIC INTEGRITY. This is not a definitive list:

• knowingly representing the work of others as one’s own;
• using, obtaining or providing unauthorized assistance on examinations, papers or any other academic work;
• fabricating data in support of laboratory or fieldwork;
• forging a signature to certify attendance, completion of a course assignment or any other gain for any purposenot authorized;
• advancing one’s academic position unfairly by hoarding or damaging library materials;
• misrepresenting one’s academic accomplishments;
• communicating, copying materials, allowing another tocopy your materials, using unauthorized materials during a quiz, test, project or homework assignment;
• submitting falsified information for grading purposes;
• removing examinations or parts of examinations without the knowledge or consent of the faculty member;
• impersonating or having another person impersonate astudent to assist the student in some academic gain;
• stealing, using or accepting stolen copies of tests or answer keys;
• changing answers and seeking credit on an assignmentor examination after work has been graded or returned;
• altering a teacher’s grade book or computer records;
• falsifying information on applications such asscholarships, etc.;
• using computers, programmable calculators or theinternet for violations of guidelines established by the faculty;
• committing any other violation intended to obtain credit for work that is not one’s own.

The faculty of our school will include the statement below on all course syllabi:

In this class you will neither give nor receive unauthorized aid in class work, quizzes, examinations, preparation of reports or projects, or in any other work that I use to evaluate you without specific permission for collaboration or without proper citation.

Our School’s Code of Conduct Honor Statement:

“As a student of integrity at our school, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this assignment.” This statement means that the student understands and has complied with the requirements of the assignment as set forth by the instructor. It is the faculty’s intent that we will incorporate the above statement at the beginning or end of tests, quizzes and other assignments as a visible and external reminder of our highest expectations for all.

At our school we know academic integrity requires our attention to detail, vigilance in routines and clarity of expectations.  The above work synthesized from the Kenan Ethics Program, the Center for Academic Integrity, student input and faculty conversations make us a richer, stronger and more vibrant school for learning.

As established by the Worthington Board of Education, a flat fee for academics is charged for all students. If your student attends Delaware Area Career Center, Linworth or CC+ (Columbus State) student fees will be prorated. If your student has free or reduced lunch, fees can also be prorated. There is a mandatory graduation fee for all seniors. If your student drives to school, there is also a parking fee.  Fees are paid in August when students pick up their class schedule

The typical student load is six classes per semester.  Six is recommended for freshmen, sophomores and juniors and a minimum of 5 is recommended for seniors, although many take more in at least one of the semesters.  Any variation on this requires special permission.

Students who plan to participate in co-curriculars (including athletics, cheerleading, theater and music programs, the Mock Trials team, and so on) need to plan their course load to ensure that they are earning sufficient credits each grading period to remain eligible to participate during the next grading period. This means that, among the courses they are taking, they must be passing five courses, each of which carry one-half credit for the semester. If you are taking any combination of Wellness 4 Life, Flex and Tone, or Strength Training classes, please check with your counselor to ensure Co-Curricular credit eligibility requirements.  Note that you must carry three graded courses of one-half credit or more per semester to be considered for honor roll and four to be considered for Academic Honor Awards. You must be passing a minimum of five one-half credit courses (or the equivalent) per semester and 1.25 credits per grading period to be eligible to participate in Co-Curriculars for the next grading period.

Students are cautioned to maintain consistency in the level of challenge represented by their course selections over the years. In specific, students should not plan to significantly reduce their load and the challenge of their courses for the senior year to ensure they are not reducing their chance of being accepted at the school or program of choice in their post-high school plans.  Students and parents need to carefully consider the complexities and commitments of student and family life when making course selections.  This often requires time for focused conversation and families may want to include the counselor in part of their decision-making process. Students should challenge themselves in ways which cause them to stretch and to learn without becoming overwhelmed.  In particular, students who select a 7-class load need to weigh carefully the balance of their lives: academic, co-curricular, work and personal life. Careful consideration should be given to the amount of work a student can handle (both school work and employment) and still maintain involvement in other chosen activities and the family, while at the same time getting enough sleep. Caution should be used in selecting a schedule which is top-heavy with advanced placement or honors courses, especially in conjunction with co-curricular commitments.

Students may elect to take designated courses on a pass/fail basis that they might not otherwise choose in view of the pressure for grades. To elect this grading option:

• Determine if the desired course is designated for the pass/fail option by checking the course description.
• Obtain the appropriate form from the Counseling Center.
• Complete the form, including your parent’s/guardian's signature. Return form to the Counseling Center within the first 4 weeks of the semester.

Be aware that:

• The choice of pass/fail, once made, stays in effect throughout the course.
• School policy regarding adding or dropping a course still applies.
• Courses taken pass/fail receive graduation credit provided the student fulfills all course requirements.
• A grade of pass (P) or fail (F) will be issued for the semester grade.
• Pass/fail courses will not be counted in determining grade point average for Honor Roll, Class Rank or Academic Awards unless an “F” is received.

Students receiving an Incomplete (“I”) on their grade cards shall receive written notice from the teacher of the work to be completed to receive a grade and the date that work is due if credit is to be received.  When possible, the student should sign the Notification of Incomplete form before copies are distributed to the student, parents and counselor.

Any work not completed by the date shown on the notice may not be made up and a grade of “F” or “zero” shall be given for the missing work. Teachers shall average the student’s grades and record the grade received not later than the day following the date shown on the Notification of Incomplete form. The only exception to this rule is a student under documented doctor’s care for whom the time may be extended as approved by the Principal or Assistant Principal.

When a student repeats a course, either to improve a grade or to gain credit because of a failure, the transcript will show both attempts and both grades. The higher of the grades earned will become the grade used for the GPA.

The repeated course will count toward the minimum course load a student must carry and the repeating grade in that course will count for athletic eligibility.

The purpose of auditing is to give the student an opportunity to explore a subject area by taking a course for no credit and no grade. An audited course will not count for athletic eligibility.  No audit requests will be accepted after the third day of the semester.

The criteria for auditing are:

• The student is expected to complete all assignments and to take all quizzes and tests.
• The teacher is expected to maintain a record of grades, although no grade will appear on the student’s grade card or transcript.
• If the teacher determines that the student is not performing at a satisfactory level or otherwise not fulfilling the expectations set forth for the course, the student will be expected to drop the audited course.

To request audit status:

• The student submits a request to audit a specific course to his/her counselor.
• The counselor or administrator determines whether or not there isspace available in a section of the course requested.
• The teacher and counselor determine whether or not the student qualifies based on previous work.
• The student is notified regarding audit status.

Current students may request transcripts for college and scholarship applications through the school registrar. Whenever possible, official transcripts will be sent electronically.  Those unable to be sent electronically will be officially stamped, sealed and mailed. Upon request of the student, a previous high school’s transcript will be included with our school’s transcript.  College Credit Plus courses will be calculated into the student’s Worthington GPA.

Students wishing not to display SAT and ACT scores on their transcript must fill out a special request form for the school registrar to remove said scores.

The high school plans course sections and assigns staff based upon student requests at the time of course registration in February. Therefore, we ask students to give serious consideration to their course selections at that time and to not assume they will be able to change their selections later.  Class size limits or other factors may preclude replacing one course with another.

Upon completion of course registration, if an insufficient number of students enroll in a particular course, that course is cancelled, and the student’s alternate course selection is substituted. Where enrollments are sufficient, reasonable class size limits are established; course sections are created, any need for a change in staffing is ad- dressed, the master schedule is built, and textbooks and supplies are ordered.  As schedules are run and adjustments are made to the master schedule, teachers and counselors help students resolve conflicts.  It is our top priority that each student has a viable schedule for the coming year (one which includes the required number of courses and meets graduation requirements appropriate to that level) by the time the current school year ends.

Students who find they are failing or might fail a course should enroll in summer school as soon as they are aware of the possible failure.  If the student then passes the course and summer school is not needed, the fee will be refunded. Students who fail a course and do not plan to make up the credit in summer school should notify their counselor as soon as possible of the need to repeat the course in the fall.

If, however, the student repeats a failed course or takes a course in the summer that he/she requested for the next school year, he/she must notify the counselor as soon as possible.

Valid changes will be processed to the degree possible in the spring and as needed through the third day of school.  Change requests will be considered to be valid if they result from one of the following reasons:

• schedule conflicts
• mechanical errors
• overloaded schedule
• graduation requirements
• physical health of the student
• change in graduation date
• completion of a correspondence or summer school course
• admittance to or return from the Career Center
• low / failing grades resulting in repeating a course
• changing levels (teacher/counselor recommendation)
• specific college entrance requirements
• balancing class sizes (administrative)
• administrative changes (teacher/counselor recommendation)
• co-curricular/athletic eligibility requirements

A limited number of personal preference requests may be considered during the first three days of school by the Exceptions Committee to accommodate changes in circumstances.

Personal preference requests should adhere to the following reasons:

• addition of a class in place of Academic Prep or Options during the same period (class size permitting)
• converting an Option into a late arrival or early release during the same period(s)
• changing a lunch period with an Academic Prep or Option (lunch sizes permitting)

Procedure:

• The student secures a Schedule Change Request Form from the Counseling Center. (Deadlines and guidelines will be stated on the form.)
• The student follows his/her current schedule until the request has been processed and, if a change is to be made, the new schedule has been generated.
• The student checks the status of the request daily (if during the school year) or periodically (if during the summer) until a decision has been finalized.
• All schedule change requests are subject to review by the Exceptions Committee.
• No requests are guaranteed.
• No change is to be assumed until a new schedule is generated.

LEVEL CHANGE POLICY

• Definition - A level change is when a student would like to move from a more rigorous class to a traditional, less rigorous class. "Rigorous" classes include Advanced Placement (AP), Honors, or International Baccalaureate (IB).   

• When- A student can request a level change at any time throughout the year. All changes are dependent upon the confines of the master schedule and are not guaranteed. Until you receive an updated copy of your schedule, you must continue to follow your current schedule.

• Grades - Any grade you have earned, regardless of the duration you have been in the more rigorous class, will be used in the recalculation of your quarter/semester grade in your new class. 

• How - In order to request a level change, please complete the "Schedule Change Request" form found in the School Counseling Office. This form requires the student, parent, and outgoing teacher's signatures.

DROPPING A COURSE

• If a course is dropped within the first six weeks, it will not be reflected on the student's transcript.
• If a course is dropped after six weeks, the student's transcript will reflect a fail (F) for the course.

Worthington Schools offers juniors and seniors the opportunity of not reporting to school until your first scheduled class or leaving school after your last scheduled class.  You may request this option at the time of course registration in the spring. To do so, you and your parents must complete a form and return it to your counselor during your registration appointment.  While students are not guaranteed a release, every effort will be made to assign your requested classes to allow a release.  When this is not possible, the release request will be dropped.  Those students who do not choose to exercise this option will be expected to be at school during unscheduled periods. The library, computer lab, counseling center and cafeteria/ commons will be available for your use based upon their capacity and scheduled use.