Kirksville High School A+ Schools Program Student/Parent Handbook

Transcription

1 Kirksville High School A+ Schools Program Student/Parent Handbook

2 GOALS OF THE A+ SCHOOLS PROGRAM The A+ Schools Program is designed to achieve the three basic goals that are set forth in the Outstanding Schools Act of The three goals of the A+ Schools Program are listed below: * All students will graduate from high school. * All students will complete a selection of high school studies that is challenging and has identified learning expectations. * All students will proceed from high school graduation to a four-year college, community college, post-secondary vocational/technical school, or high wage job with work place skill development opportunities. All projects and efforts of the A+ Schools concept in the Kirksville R-III District are designed to achieve the three basic objectives listed above. BENEFITS OF AN A+ SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS The A+ Schools initiative began with the graduating class of 1998 at Kirksville R-III. On November 21, 1997, Kirksville R-III received designation as an A+ School by the State of Missouri. Therefore, graduating students may be eligible for the following: * FREE tuition, books, and fees while attending any public community college or public vocational/technical school of their choice in Missouri. * These costs will be reimbursable only after the student has made a good faith effort to first secure all available federal post-secondary student financial assistance funds that do not require repayment. Students will receive this incentive for TWO years. A student must be considered a FULL-TIME student by the institution. Students must complete the two years of full-time enrollment at a public community college or a public vocational/technical school within FOUR years after graduation from Kirksville High School. STUDENT ELIGIBILITY To be eligible for the financial incentives of the A+ Schools Program, a student must be certified as an A+ Student by Kirksville High School. As the official representative of the A+ Schools Program with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the A+ Schools Coordinator has the responsibility to certify if a graduate of Kirksville High School has met the criteria for certification. To be certified as an A+ Student, an individual must do the following: * Sign an A+ Student contract (Copy included with this booklet). * Enter into a written agreement with the Kirksville High School prior to the last day of the first semester of the senior year. * Attend an A+ designated high school for the three consecutive years prior to graduation. * Maintain a 95% attendance rate. * Earn a 2.5 minimum grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

3 * Perform 50 hours of unpaid tutoring or mentoring for younger students. * Maintain a record of good citizenship and avoidance of the unlawful use of drugs and alcohol, including possession of tobacco. * Make a good faith effort to first secure all available federal post-secondary student financial assistance funds that do not require repayment. year. A summary sheet advising the parent of student progress toward A+ Schools status will be mailed at the end of each school ENROLLMENT REQUIREMENTS This section of the A+ Student Manual will discuss the requirement of a student attending Kirksville High School for three years prior to graduation. * The student must be enrolled at an A+ designated high school during the student s ENTIRE sophomore, junior, and senior years. GRADE POINT REQUIREMENTS To be eligible for A+ Schools financial assistance the student must graduate with a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or above on a 4.0 scale. The following statements are intended to help clarify the A+ Schools policies concerning grade point average. * The cumulative grade point average is for the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior years. * The student s official transcript will serve as evidence of grade point average for admission into a public community college or public vocational/technical school. * ALL courses taken by the student during their four years of high school will be used to calculate the GPA. ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS The attendance rate must be 95% for the cumulated time from the beginning of the freshman year at the A+ designated high school until graduation. The following guidelines will be in effect: * The attendance information given to the A+ Schools Coordinator will come from the official attendance record kept by the Kirksville School District. * A cumulative attendance record will be kept from the beginning of the A+ student s freshman year until graduation. * At the end of each semester the cumulative attendance records will be sent to the A+ Schools Coordinator. * Each quarter the attendance record information is reported on the grade card. Parents wanting to know cumulative attendance information may request it from the A+ Coordinator at any time. * After receiving this information, the parent will have 30 days to file an appeal with the A+ Schools Coordinator. If an appeal is not filed within 30 days of notification, the waiver for those days missed will not be considered. * Parents of A+ students should use the A+ Attendance Appeal Form. A form can be obtained from the A+

4 Coordinator. * Students with specific health histories must make sure that the medical documentation of chronic or long term health-related problems are on file with the school nurse and such health-related problems shall be considered in a possible review situation. * Those submitting a request for an A+ waiver of days missed shall provide the A+ Schools Coordinator with official documentation of the following: REASON FOR MISSING DOCUMENTATION 1. Doctor s/dentist s Visits Doctor s Excuse 2. Hospitalization Letter from Doctor 3. Chronic Health Problems School Nurse 4. Court Dates Letter from the Court 5. Funerals Letter from Principal 6. Personal Calamity: Flood, Fire, etc. Letter from Principal 7. Catastrophic Illness, Long Letter from Principal Hospitalization, or Serious Accident or Doctor *A student will not receive a waiver jf any absence is due to any of the following: 1. Truancy 2. Skipping Classes 3. Personal/Family Vacation 4. Transportation Problems (Unless on a late school bus) 5. Suspended from Class or School for ANY Reason *Should a waiver be requested all attendance information will be gathered. *An A+ Student Review Committee will then meet at the end of the semester to decide if a waiver for absences for A+ Schools determination will be granted. *The A+ Student Review Committee will be composed of the following: 1. Central Office Administrator 2. High School Administrator 3. A+ Student s Guidance Counselor 4. Appointed High School Teacher 5. Teacher of Student s Choice 6. A+ Coordinator, as Facilitator and Non-Voting Member *After the A+ Student Review Committee reaches a decision, the A+ Schools Coordinator will parents by letter. notify the TUTORING / MENTORING REQUIREMENTS The law states that A+ Students must perform 50 hours of unpaid tutoring or mentoring for younger students during the last three years of high school. The following guidelines should be followed in the completion of this requirement. Should questions concerning tutoring or mentoring arise, please contact the A+ Coordinator:

5 * All tutoring and mentoring activities will be designed to involve the A+ applicant with lower grade students in the Kirksville School District. * Tutoring and mentoring activities will provide, as an ultimate goal, encouragement to lower grade students to get turned on to school, stay in school, and strive for good grades. * Tutoring and mentoring activities will be school-based, academic in nature, and under the auspices of school (not private or public sector programs in which the school has no input into activity). * The tutoring and mentoring activities must occur before, after, or during the school day on the school premises. Summer school is an approved opportunity. * All tutoring and mentoring must be supervised and verified by a teacher, principal, counselor, or the A+ Coordinator. * The A+ applicant is responsible for maintaining a bi-weekly time sheet indicating all tutoring/mentoring activities. Exact times should be indicated. Only activities that have been verified with a time sheet signature by the tutoring supervisor, teacher, principal, counselor, or the A+ Coordinator) will be counted toward the 50 hour requirement. Bi-weekly, this time sheet will be submitted by the applicant to the A+ Coordinator. * Students-As-Mentors (S.A.M.) is a semester course open to high school students for 1/2 unit of credit. A letter grade is given. Participation in this course for one semester should result in completion of the required 50 hours of tutoring or mentoring. 1. The A+ Coordinator will assign each student to a tutoring/mentoring site. 2. Orientation will be conducted during the first week of each semester. 3. The student is expected to be present on the assigned days and times for the tutoring/mentoring. 4. If an absence must occur, A+ students are expected to notify the adult in charge of their tutoring/mentoring prior to the absence. 5. Being absent from the S.A.M. class without permission of school personnel will be considered truancy or skipping school. This will be documented as an unexcused absence and result in disciplinary action. 6. To terminate a tutoring/mentoring experience by the A+ student or the sponsoring school, permission must be granted by the A+ Coordinator. 7. The Mentoring Time Log must be completed and submitted to the A+ Coordinator on the date that is designated. 8. Students will meet once a month with the high school personnel supervising the S.A.M. course. The school personnel supervising the actual mentoring experiences will complete an evaluation on each Mentoring student. GOOD CITIZENSHIP To be eligible for the A+ Schools Financial Incentive students must maintain a record of good citizenship and avoidance of the unlawful use of drugs (including alcohol). In an effort to set the parameters of good citizenship, the A+ Schools Advisory committee defines good citizens by the following criteria:

6 A. Minimal discipline referrals. B. No unexcused absences. C. Avoidance of the unlawful use of drugs and alcohol. D. Participation in at least one extracurricular activity per year. E. Compliance with provisions of the Kirksville R-III Activity Code. F. No person less than 18 years of age shall possess tobacco products. The above criteria, which if met, will result in the earning and maintaining of Honor Card Status as outlined in the Renaissance Honor Program. The Kirksville R-III Activity Code sets forth the types of disciplinary action that may be taken for specific infractions. When violations of the Good Citizenship policy occurs each case will be reviewed individually, and one of two responses will result. 1. A warning statement will be issued to the student and the student s parents/guardian placing the student on probation. 2. The student and the student s parents/guardians will be notified that the student has been removed from the A+ Schools Program and is not eligible for the tuition reimbursement. STUDENT APPEAL A Citizenship Review Committee will meet as needed to review and determine the eligibility status of students with citizenship deficiencies. They will also be responsible for hearing cases of appeal. The Citizenship Review Committee will consist of: 1. Central Office Administrator 2. High School Administrator 3. A+ Student s Guidance Counselor 4. Board of Education Member 5. A+ Schools Coordinator A student (and/or parent) has the right to appeal when she/he becomes ineligible for the A+ financial incentive. In cases of appeal, the student must notify the A+ Coordinator in writing of her/his intent to appeal. The A+ Coordinator will then convene a committee meeting for consideration of the appeal within ten (10) school days. The committee will hear the appeal and return its decision to the student within five (5) days of the meeting. The decisions of the committee will be considered final. GOOD FAITH EFFORT TO SECURE FUNDING This section of the manual explains the requirement of parents to first make a good faith effort to secure all available federal post-secondary student financial assistance funds that do not require repayment (Pell Grant or SEOG-Supplemental

7 Educational Opportunity Grant). * Parents must complete and send in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA information must be sent to the public community college or public vocational/technical school that the student is planning to attend. * The FAFSA application form is available in the guidance counselors office of the Kirksville High School, from the financial aid office of the institution of higher learning, or on the internet at * Parents are encouraged to apply as early as possible, but not before January 1 of the year the student plans to attend school, due to the fact you will need your prior year income tax forms to complete the FAFSA. REQUIREMENTS FOR MAINTAINING ELIGIBILITY AFTER H.S. GRADUATION Missouri public community colleges and vocational or technical schools shall verify for each student intending to participate in the A+ Schools Program student financial incentives at their institution that: *During the first semester of the student s participation: 1. Verification of student eligibility has been received from Kirksville High School from which the student graduated. 2. The eligible student is enrolled as a full-time student; 3. A good faith effort has been made to secure federal postsecondary student financial assistance funds (federal grants); and 4. The amount of A+ Schools Program student financial incentive funds necessary to cover the remaining costs of tuition, books, and fees to attend, after applying any secured federal postsecondary student financial funds or scholarships; and * During the second and subsequent semesters of the student s participation: 1. The eligible student continues to be enrolled as a full-time student; 2. Good faith efforts continue to be made to secure federal postsecondary student financial assistance funds; 3. The student has earned and maintains a grade point average (GPA) of 2 and five-tenths (2.5) points or higher on a four(4) point scale; and 4. The amount of A+ Schools Program student financial incentive funds necessary to cover the remaining costs of tuition, books, and fees to attend, after applying any secured financial funds or scholarships. federal postsecondary student Approved by the Kirksville A+ Schools Advisory Committee, November 1998 Approved by the Kirksville R-II1 School Board, January 1999 Revised November 2001