Student Notification of Changes to Grading Policy Q4

Dear Vikings!

We hope you are safe and healthy and doing everything you can to remain so.

I am writing to communicate some very important information that was sent to administrators, teachers, and parents less than 24 hours ago. There is a lot of information here, so I am going to try to be as clear as possible and provide examples. Simply put, they are changing the way they will calculate Q4 and final Semester 2 grades. Basically, while your grades can’t be “harmed,” it is possible to find yourself in a situation where you don’t earn credit for a class and you have to take it over again. Read this carefully. NOTE: THIS DOCUMENT DOES NOT APPLY TO DUAL CREDIT and DRIVER EDUCATION.

MOVING FORWARD: Teachers will enter your assignments on a daily basis, which may cause your grade to go up or down based on the results of the individual assignment entered. You will be allowed to re-do assignments that lower your grade. If your teacher doesn’t offer that opportunity, just ask for feedback.

The impact of your work/grades during “remote learning” will be summatively evaluated at the end of the semester. If your calculated grade is lower than it was on March 16, you will earn a “Pass,” which does not harm your GPA in any way.

IT ISN’T TOO LATE TO CHANGE THE DIRECTION YOUR GRADE IS HEADED. YOU CAN JUMP BACK INTO REMOTE LEARNING TODAY. WE WILL GIVE YOU PLENTY OF CHANCES TO “CATCH UP” AND TO COUNT YOUR ENGAGEMENT TOWARD A FINAL GRADE. I have included a “chart” in this document that will help you understand updated grading practices.

1) This is an expectation that you engage in your Amundsen High School studies on a daily basis. Because technology and paper assignments have been offered, moving forward, there should be no reason to stop you from becoming engaged with your classes and doing your work.

2) Amundsen teachers are recording your “engagement” on a daily basis. Your engagement has been documented since March 25. Documentation of how engaged you were will be used as evidence in determining final grades. Engagement includes how often you attended “class,” turned in work, how responsive you were to requests at contact, etc.

3) Students should be allowed to make-up work or turn in late or missing work assigned after March 17 without penalty. Teachers may elect to issue make-up work a few assignments at a time.

All late/assigned work must be turned-in to earn credit by the following deadlines: Seniors: May 29th; Underclassmen - June 8th. No work will be accepted after these dates, so teachers have time to grade.

4) We will be issuing final semester grades based on the work you completed during Q3 and Q4. If you did not complete any work during this time, that will also be calculated into your final grade.

5) It is possible to earn an Incomplete in a class by having not been engaged in the Remote Learning process. This isn’t a failure. This doesn’t harm your GPA. BUT, IT DOES MEAN YOU HAVEN’T MET THE REQUIREMENTS TO EARN CREDIT AND THAT YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE CLASS AGAIN TO EARN THE CREDIT DURING FUTURE CREDIT RECOVERY OPPORTUNITIES. You will not be charged for the credit recovery class. Once you retake the class in credit recovery, the grade you earn will replace the Incomplete. So, while technically, your lack of engagement didn’t actually “hurt” your grade, it did “hurt” your credit situation.

6) If your semester grade calculates to an “F,” you will earn an Incomplete for the class.

Here are the options of grades you can earn in Semester 2.

Letter Grade (Grades of A, B, C, D) - These grades ARE calculated in your GPA)
Pass (You earn credit for taking the class. A Pass is NOT calculated in your GPA.
Incomplete (You do NOT earn credit for taking the class. An Incomplete is NOT calculated in your GPA.)

If you haven’t been engaged, it is time to get busy! IT ISN’T. TOO. LATE!

If you have questions, reach out to your counselor, Mr. Nguyen, Ms. Eilers, Ms. Murray, Ms. Ortiz, or me.

LIVE CHAT WITH ADMIN TO TALK ABOUT AND ANSWER QUESTIONS

YOU HAVE:

MONDAY, MAY 4th - 2 P.M.

THURSDAY, MAY 7th - 2 P.M.

EMAIL THE PRINCIPAL OR ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS