Dear High School Families, 

Many students were given a copy of their Semester 1 Progress Report during advisory today to bring home, and for those students that did not receive it today they will get it during advisory on Monday.  In addition to the paper copy, the progress report is also available for viewing on X2 for the next two weeks.  These grades are a snapshot of their performance thus far and are not included in any permanent school transcripts.  Please review the following information:

Overall Grades and Strand Grades:  The top grade listed in bold is the overall grade for a class.  This represents the average of all graded work in a course.   Every department at our high school has subcategories or “strands” that indicate performance in various elements of class.  We feel that this breakdown better reflects students’ progress and how the overall average is determined.  If a strand is blank in any particular course, it is likely because that strand has not yet been assessed.  If your student has received a grade below C in any area, teachers have been asked to provide a written explanation.   I encourage you to reach out to your child’s teacher if you have any additional questions or concerns.

New Digital Portfolio Strand:

Each semester, students develop a digital portfolio with academic contributions from each of their classes. A digital portfolio strand has been added to each class and teachers will assess contributions from their content area to the digital portfolio as the semester progresses.  The digital portfolio strand may be blank at this time, but by the end of the semester all students must earn a “Pass” in this strand for each of their courses.   Students who have not yet met the course expectations for their digital portfolio will receive an overall grade of Incomplete (no credit is earned) until the expectations for the digital portfolio are met.

Advisory Grades: Advisors will be assessing student progress towards our school outcomes: Self-Direction, Effective Communication, Problem Solving, Community Membership and Digital Portfolio.  While advisory grades do not factor in GPA calculations and do not appear on an official transcript, they do reflect core beliefs of our school.   As such, we expect students should be working towards proficiency (and beyond) as a student at IACS. 

Promotion/ Graduation Credits: At IACS, the minimum passing grade in high school is a C.  Per our school’s academic policy, students will not receive credit in a course if their overall grade is a D or F at the end of the semester.   In order to remove a D or F on a student’s transcript, he or she must participate in a credit recovery program that has been approved by the High School Principal.  The primary reason we have two rounds of progress reports is to assure that families are aware of their students’ standing and can collaborate with faculty to support a child at risk of earning a D or F in any class. 

Maintaining high academic standards requires a team effort from students, families, and faculty.  We encourage you to acknowledge and applaud your child’s effort where he or she has been successful.  If you see areas where improvement is needed, please discuss your concerns with your child and contact their teacher(s) and advisor as needed.  There is still plenty of time to make large improvements; the best way for that to happen is if all parties communicate effectively.

Sincerely,

Erik Arnold, Ed.D

High School Principal