Saint Joseph High School

ACADEMIC POLICY

Saint Joseph High School's educational goals are consistent with the school's philosophy, the educational policies of the Archdiocese and the laws of the State of California. The school curriculum is designed to:

provide instruction in religious truths and values;
present a balance of spiritual development, organized knowledge, intellectual skills, physical activity and affective development;
prepare students to examine both current and future cultural and technological developments in relationship to changes within the framework of Catholic values and beliefs;
relate learning experiences to life experiences in all areas of study;
encourage appreciation of cultural, ethnic and racial diversity;
provide for social and aesthetic development;
provide for instruction in the social sciences which includes the role and contribution of the various racial and ethnic groups and the economic political and social development of California and the United States;
provide for instruction which meets the needs of the students and results in preparing them for education beyond high school and/or for immediate career and occupational goals; and
provide instruction in personal and public safety and health, including the effects of all types of substance abuse.

ACADEMIC PROGRAM

Incoming 9th grade students at Saint Joseph High School are placed into specific academic programs based upon Placement Examination results, previous academic performance and personal interviews.

Each student's counselor is in charge of assisting her in the choice of class program. This is done in March of each year. The student is guided in her choice of program for the coming year on the basis of report cards, testing data and teacher recommendations. All changes or adjustments in a student's schedule are handled through the academic advisor and the assistant principal for academics. Every attempt is made to schedule the student into her first choice of classes. However, since this is not always possible, the student is asked to choose her alternatives wisely. Changes can only be made in an emergency.

Students signing up for year courses may not drop or change the class at the end of the first semester. A student whose circumstances warrant the making of a change must fill out a schedule change petition before the end of the first week of the semester, and obtain the approval of: parents, assistant principal for academics, academic advisor and teachers involved.

A later withdrawal may result in an "F" in the course. Upon withdrawal there may not be another course available or the new course may result in less than full credit.

There is a $10.00 fee for a student-initiated schedule change. Second semester changes must be made before Christmas vacation. After Christmas the fee will be raised to $20.00. A transfer after having been enrolled in the course for three weeks will result in an “F.”

HONORS/ADVANCED PLACEMENT CLASSES

Honors courses are advanced and/or accelerated classes that consist of more challenging material than do regular classes. Grading reflects this fact. Report cards and transcripts identify honors classes. The University of California and the California State University wish to encourage students to take demanding advanced academic courses in all fields. The grades in up to four units (8 semester courses) taken in the student's last two years of high school will be counted on a scale of A = 5, B = 4, C = 3, if these courses are certified by the high school as offered at an honors level. These courses must be in the areas of history, English, advanced mathematics, laboratory science and foreign language. The CSF (California Scholarship Federation) also gives an extra point for a maximum of two in honor classes. All students enrolled in an Advanced Placement course must sign a contract outlining academic responsibilities, will be responsible for completing assignments during the summer before the course begins, and must take the Advanced Placement exam in May. Failure to complete the Advanced Placement exam results in removal of Advanced Placement designation from the student’s transcript.

DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARS PROGRAM

To be eligible for the Distinguished Scholars Program (DSP), a student must have successfully maintained 3.5 (unweighted) GPA in 8 or more AP and Honors courses.

SUMMER SCHOOL

Saint Joseph High School offers a summer school program for remediation and enrichment. In order to receive five (5) academic credits for summer school, a course must meet for a total of 60 instructional hours. Summer School courses taken at a school other than Saint Joseph High School must have the approval of the Assistant Principal for Academics. The Saint Joseph High School summer session is co-educational and is open to students attending Saint Joseph High School and other Catholic high schools. Please click here for more information about summer school.

SUMMER READING

See POW Program.

STUDY AND HOMEWORK

As a minimum, a student spends two hours studying each night before a school day. Additional study time is required of students taking Advanced Placement and Honor courses. Home study is not merely a writing exercise or written assignment. A student prepares for classes by reviewing, reflecting, memorizing, outlining, reading, preparing and completing of assignments.

Examinations
Students are expected to be present on all test days, whether they are semester, quarterly or daily. Parents are encouraged to allow their daughters to miss school only for serious reasons; illness is a serious reason. When a student returns from an absence, she is responsible for checking with each of her teachers to make arrangements for make-up work and/or tests. The policy on make-up tests and work differs from teacher to teacher. At the beginning of each course, teachers will state the procedure they will follow. Each student is responsible to know the policy of her teachers.

Some ways that teachers deal with this situation are:

No make up tests. The lowest grade will be dropped at the end of each grading period. If a student is absent for a test, that is considered her lowest grade.
One make up day per quarter after school.
Extra credit assignment that will make up for lost quiz points.
Allow students to make up tests, but not quizzes, on the day they return.

MAKE-UP WORK/ABSENCES

When students are absent for fewer than four days, they are expected to refer to the class syllabus and/or get their assignments from reliable peers in the class. The collection of assignments by the school from teachers takes a minimum of 24 hours and can be requested after the student is absent for four days or more.

STANDARDIZED TESTING

In April of each year a standardized test is administered to all students. Students are tested in the following: reading vocabulary, reading comprehension, mathematics and language.

The following tests are for those students wishing to attend college. They are administered at various locations on Saturdays during the school year.

SAT 9 Reasoning
SAT Subject Tests
ACT - American College Testing

Before admission of students all four-year universities require the SAT Reasoning or the ACT test. Some universities require the SAT Subject Tests before admission. Registration materials for these tests are available in the college/career center on campus. Dates for these tests are noted in the school calendar provided to all SJHS students and families.

The Preliminary PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) and various other standardized tests (PLAN, EXPLORE, IOWA) are administered during the school year. Juniors who score high on the PSAT/NMSQT may qualify for scholarships in their senior year. The EXPLORE and PLAN tests are part of the ACT Testing Program. The EXPLORE test is administered to 9th grade students; the PLAN test is administered to 10th grade students.

Saint Joseph High School Graduation Requirements

Scholarship Marks and Grading Scales

A =	Outstanding Achievement. Student usually does more than required, learns rapidly, shows creativity and assumes active leadership in learning activities.
B =	Good Achievement. Student sometimes does more than required, shows average interest and initiative, and displays some leadership in learning activities.
C =	Satisfactory Achievement. Student does assigned work, shows average interest and initiative and takes part in some classroom activities.
D =	Minimum Achievement. Student does not complete all assigned work, learns slowly, shows some interest and initiative but is usually passive and sometimes inattentive in class room activities.
F =	Failure due to Unsatisfactory Achievement. Student does not complete minimum requirements, shows virtually no progress or initiative and does not participate in any classroom activities.
INC =	Incomplete due to justifiable absence. Ordinarily these are not given at the semester.

Grading Scale Percent Equivalents

A =	100-96%	A- =	95-90%
B+ =	89-87%	B =	86-83%	B- =	82-80%
C+ =	79-77%	C =	76-73%	C- =	72=70%
D+ =	69-67%	D =	66-63%	D- =	62-60%
F =	59% and below

REPORT CARDS AND GRADES

Report cards are issued four times a year. Semester grades should be an average of ALL marks from both quarters.

The mid-term reports, that is, those of the first and third quarter, are progress report cards. They indicate the progress of the student up to that point in the semester, but the grades are not recorded permanently. The quarter grades, however, are used to determine eligibility for participation in extra-curricular activities. Students are not allowed to take semester exams or receive their report cards unless all obligations to the school have been met (attendance, tuition, volunteer hours, etc.).

Report cards will be distributed to students approximately ten days after the end of each quarter. The June report card will be mailed home. Please check with your daughter after these dates if you have not received her report card.

PROGRESS REPORTS

Approximately five weeks before the end of a marking period teachers are required to hand in to the Assistant Principal for Academics’ office progress reports for those students with unsatisfactory achievement. The purpose of this notice is to inform both students and parents of unsatisfactory progress so that measures for improvement can be taken before the final semester/quarter grades are issued for the report card. These notices are mailed directly to the parents shortly after the day that they are due in the office. If a student is in danger of failing a subject, the student’s teacher will notify the parent/guardian by phone three weeks prior to the end of the grading period or as soon as the failure becomes evident.

GRADE CHECK REPORTS

Parents/Guardians are encouraged to contact their daughter's teachers directly if there is concern regarding academic progress. If the student is demonstrating poor achievement in 2 or more courses, parents/ guardians may request more frequent grade checks by contacting the student's Academic Advisor. Grade Check Requests made on Monday will be sent home on Friday for parent/guardian signature. In addition, parents are encouraged to check grades online.

ACADEMIC PROBATION AND PENALTIES

Any student who receives two or more grades below C is automatically placed on probation for one semester. Ordinarily, the academic advisor contacts the student, notifies her of the academic probation and emphasizes the policies that accompany probationary status.

Academic Probation I
A freshman who has been accepted on academic probation or any student who, for the first time, has received two or more grades below a C is placed on Probation I.

Academic Probation II
A student who is on academic probation for a second time (not necessarily consecutive) is considered to be on Academic Probation II. Extra-curricular activities may be curtailed or denied to any student who is on Academic Probation II.

Academic Probation III
Contract: A student placed on academic probation for the third (not necessarily consecutive) time will be required to sign an agreement stating that she may be asked to withdraw from school if she again receives two or more semester grades below C. Parents will also be required to sign the contract at the time that it goes into effect. This contract is given to the student and reviewed by student and academic advisor. The contract must be returned in 3 days or the student will receive a misconduct. After one week, if it is still not returned, the academic advisor will contact the parents. A student on Academic Probation III may, under no circumstances, participate in extra-curricular activities during the semester.

Freshman Probation
A freshman accepted on academic probation (Academic Probation I) and subsequently placed on probation during the freshman year, may be asked to transfer at the end of the year. Also, any freshmen accepted on Academic Probation who remain on probation both semesters will be called to a Student Success Team to evaluate their continued status at Saint Joseph High School.

Failures
All semester Fs must be made up in summer school before a student may return to school or be graduated. A senior who receives an F will not receive her diploma until the F is made up in a summer school program.

Academic Withdrawal/Dismissal
SJHS has a rule requiring dismissal if academic failures cannot be made up in summer school or if a student receives a specified number of academic failures at the end of a semester. The school administration makes certain that teachers do not impose academic failures unless they are justly deserved and unless a failure notice has been given. Normally, a student is asked to withdraw. Only if the parents refuse to withdraw the student are expulsion procedures to be undertaken. Under special circumstances, a student may remain on the condition that she will not receive a diploma at the end of her four years, and instead will receive a certificate verifying her attendance for four years at SJHS. The final decision rests with the principal.

STUDENT PERMANENT RECORD

Only semester grades and those particular courses that end each quarter are entered in a student's official transcript. The transcript is the official school record of scholastic work accomplished during high school. Semester grades are issued in February and June. Transcripts are forwarded to colleges or universities upon request and with parent/guardian signature. (See Transfer of Records.)

Release of Student Records
"Parents of currently enrolled or former pupils have an absolute right to access any and all pupil records related to their children which are maintained by school districts or private schools...." (Family Rights and Privacy Act, 1974)

"Parent" means a natural parent, adoptive parent or legal guardian by state definition. Under federal regulations, "parent" includes a parent, a guardian or an individual acting as a parent of a student in the absence of a parent or guardian.

"Access" means a personal inspection and review of a record or an accurate copy of a record, receipt of an accurate copy of a record, an oral description or communication of a record or an accurate copy of a record and a request to release a copy of.

Regarding legal separation and divorce cases, California state law only gives to the parent having legal custody the right to:
consent to release of records;
challenge the content of records; and
write responses to information regarding disciplinary action to be included in the record.

Saint Joseph High School abides by the provisions of the Buckley Amendment with respect to rights of non-custodial parents. In the absence of a court order to the contrary, a school will provide the
non-custodial parent with access to the academic records and to other school related information regarding the child. If there is a court order specifying that there is to be no information given, it is the responsibility of the custodial parent to provide the school with an official copy of the court order.

Pupil records of students currently attending Saint Joseph High School will be released to outside agencies or persons only with the written consent of the parent or guardian described above.

TRANSFER OF RECORDS

When a student transfers from one school district to another or to a private school, or transfers from a private school to a school district within the state, the pupil's enrollment and scholarship record, or a copy thereof, shall be transferred by the former district or private school upon request from the district or private school where the student intends to enroll. (Education Code 49068)

Education Code 48904 allows a school to decline to give the pupil his or her diploma, or report card, or to refuse to send transcripts to a college or employer, until the family's financial and volunteer obligations are met. For seniors diplomas and transcripts will be held until all obligations are met.