Update: 30 Aug 2007

This page contains as complete a list as possible of policies that are specific to my classes. Policies regarding behavior are here.

There are two reasons for these policies: some are here to keep the classes fair for all students by treating them the same in situations where they must be treated the same; some are here to inform everyone in advance of how certain situations will be handled in order to avoid controversy and eliminate unpleasant surprises.

This page is as important to parents as it is for students.

Online Task Policy

Some assignments need to be completed online. Students are expected to complete these in the spirit intended and within the timeframe required just like any other task. There are over 150 computers in the school building, distributed in all classrooms and two labs, using which students can complete these assignments. Access to internet at home is useful, but not required.

• Students are responsible for remembering their username and password for online tasks just as they are responsible for remembering their locker combination at school. Students will not be excused from an online task or given an extension on an online task because they forgot their username and/or password. This is just the same as the policy that students will not be excused from a homework assignment because they could not get into their locker on account of having forgotten their combination.
• Students who forget their password are expected to make arrangements in advance of the due date of an online task to obtain that information.
• Certain security measures are taken with online tasks when neceesary to assure fairplay. For example, the student computer's IP address is recorded, as well as exact time and date of access.
• Students are not permitted to share their online access information and are not permitted to log on using anyone's access rights but their own. To log in using someone else's information will be treated the same as writing someone else's name on a paper submitted for homework.
• Tasks may be timed, limited in the number of attempts, or locked out to only certain students.

Progress Notification

• Parents are notified on their child’s progress very regularly: the eligibility notification every 2 1/2 weeks, the five week notice, and the report card every 10 weeks. In addition, I provide students with a complete progress report every week that lists all of their work.
• Weekly progress reports mailed home for your child are available on request on a limited and temporary basis.
• On average, it takes 3 days for student work to be reviewed, graded, recorded, and returned. I average 80 students a year and process around 400 papers a week. This means that the grade on reports mailed out by the school are usually out of date by the time you receive them.
• I am happy to sign your son or daughter’s homework planners at your request, however, the students must be responsible to see me about it.

Textbooks

Textbooks are issued the first week of classes and are a must for this course of study. Textbooks need to be brought to class each day. Students are responsible for the particular textbook they were issued. They do not have to be covered. If a book goes missing during the year, students should request that a second book be issued to them. Families bear financial liability for lost or damaged textbooks.

Recording Devices

• The classsroom is a public venue and I will record what goes on there in video and/or audio from time to time.
• Students are welcome, in fact encouraged, to bring their own audio or video recording devices to lessons for later study. This can be particularly effective for people who learn well from listening: they can record class presentations and discussions.

Grading

• The majority of the student’s grade is based on monthly tasks like the exam, essay or DBQ, and listening test. These measures are based on the NYS standards. These are called “high order” tasks and the average of them counts for 60% (65% starting in September 2008) of the student’s grade.
• Quizzes and practice activities are called “low order tasks”. The lowest 2 are dropped each quarter in grade 7. These count for 40% of the student’s grade. (35% starting in September 2008)
• There are extra assignments that students can do voluntarily for various amounts of credit (“Extended tasks”). These count even if they result in a low score.
• The late fee for work that is accepted late is 15 points off per day (excepting legal absences).
• Students cannot go back and make up old homework that they forgot to do.
• Students each have a mailbox in my classroom. They are responsible for checking these boxes when we have class. Students will not be excused from assignments because they did not check their mailbox in a timely manner. Students may not use these mailboxes for storage or for communicating with other students.

Testing

• There is a full class review on the class period before the monthly exam. Students who are absent for this class are required to take the exam. Exam and essay questions are distributed a week in advance. Students always know the things they should study.
• Students who are absent 2 or more days in the week leading up to the monthly exam may postpone the exam one day.
• When a student fails a quiz, he is assigned extra homework: usually this involves writing an outline or summary of the chapter section that the quiz addressed. A due date is stamped on the returned quiz and the late fee is 15 points per day.
• Multiple-choice exams that are written in pencil will not be reviewed for teacher correction error, since the answer could have been changed after returning the paper to the student.
• If there is an instance of cheating, both the student who took answers and the student whose answers were taken will have consequences. The latter will be objectionable to some parents, but I will maintain it because, even if accidental, it is a fault of not maintaining security over one's own paper.
• If a student or parent would like to appeal a grade I have assigned a work, this appeal must be brought to me within 5 days of the paper being returned. The original paper must be resubmitted.

Absences

• Students have 5 school days to make up work missed due to absence (see district policy manual). Important: Being absent during the five days that work is due from a previous absence DOES NOT GIVE YOU AN EXTENSION! That means if you're absent on the days you were supposed to make up work from another absence, you will have missed your chance and receive zero for the work missed. If you are absent a lot, you will find it impossible to make up the work missed and you cannot anticipate good grades.
• tasks made up due to absence may not necessarily be the same as the original task assigned in class in order to diminish the chances of gaining unfair advantage by absence.
• After school private lessons are regrettably not available.
• Students who are absent for 2 or more days of instruction on material required for the exam may postpone the exam.
• The school requires that I report students to the office whose grade is below 70 every few weeks. Students whose averages are below 70 because they have been absent may have to be reported.