COURSE POLICY INFORMATION

West Hartford's attendance policy requires students to attend all classes in all subjects. Students who have reached certain attendance thresholds (excused and unexcused) during a semester, will receive the academic grade earned, but may not receive credit for the semester.  

Tiered interventions will be used to support students who meet this criteria.

A copy of the complete attendance policy is reviewed with students annually and is available online. Students and parents are advised to read the entire attendance policy carefully.

Changes are subject to teacher recommendation, department supervisor approval and administrative approval.

Please note: Students must always carry a minimum of five credits per year to be considered a full-time student.

Changes will not be made based on period, lunch or teacher preferences. Any academic change requires written consent from parent/guardian.

Reasons for schedule changes after the start of a semester must meet one of these qualifications:

1. Level change - recommended/ approved by classroom teacher, department supervisor, administration and parent
2. PPT mandated changes
3. Administrative request
4. Completed summer school classes

Note: All above changes would require use of the Change Request Form (see school counselor)

Students in year-long and semester 1 courses may change levels through the end of Quarter 1.  After that time, the student is expected to finish the semester.  Students in a semester 2 course may change levels through the end of Quarter 3.  After that time, the student is expected to finish the semester.

All level changes are subject to administrative approval in collaboration with the classroom teacher, department supervisor, school counselor, and parent/guardian. Students must continue to follow their current schedule while any change is being reviewed and until such time that a schedule change is approved.  When a student changes levels, their grade follows them to their new course; however, students who level "down" in a course will have an additional five points added to their grade to honor the rigor of the original course.

YEAR-LONG AND SEMESTER 1 COURSES:

* ADD/DROP PERIOD: Students may add or drop any year-long or semester one course within the first ten days of the first semester with parent/guardian permission.
* DROP PERIOD: After the close of the ten-day add/drop period, students may no longer add a new course; however, students may drop a course without penalty up until Quarter 1 Progress Reports.
* WITHDRAWAL PERIOD: After Quarter 1 Progress Reports, students may request to withdraw from a course with the approval of the parent/guardian, teacher, department supervisor, school counselor, and administrator. Students who withdraw from a course will receive a "W" on their transcript. The deadline to withdraw from a course is Quarter 2 Progress Reports; after this time, a student is expected to finish the semester.

SEMESTER TWO COURSES:
* ADD/DROP PERIOD: Students may add or drop any semester two course within the first ten days of the second semester with parent/guardian permission.
* DROP PERIOD: After the close of the ten-day add/drop period, students may no longer add a new course; however, students may drop a course without penalty up until Quarter 3 Progress Reports.
* WITHDRAWAL PERIOD: After Quarter 3 Progress Reports, students may request to withdraw from a course with the approval of the parent/guardian, teacher, department supervisor, school counselor, and administrator. Students who withdraw from a course will receive a "W" on their transcript. The deadline to withdraw from a course is Quarter 2 Progress Reports; after this time, a student is expected to finish the semester.

The classroom teacher, department supervisor, school counselor and parent/guardian will be involved in the process prior to the final decision being made by an administrator. Students must continue to attend all classes currently on their schedule while the request for a schedule change is being reviewed.

All students are required to take an examination for each course at the end of both semesters, in January and in June. Seniors with a "B" or better average, at the discretion of the teacher and departmental practice, may be excused from taking the final examination. Such exemptions will not be announced until the last regular meeting of the course. Seniors involved in town-wide exams will not be exempted.

It is possible for any student to “audit” a course if space permits and proper approval is secured. Students are expected to actively participate and regularly attend the class. Reasonable student expectations will be defined by the content area teacher and department supervisor. The title of the course followed by “audit” will be recorded on the student’s cumulative record. Students must have the permission of the school counselor, department supervisor and administration to audit. 

• DIS is to be used as an option ONLY for students with plans for study not available in any course offering. There is a limit of one DIS per student per semester. No DIS will be used to meet graduation requirements during spring semester of senior year.
   
• DIS contract forms must be completed and can be obtained from the School Counseling Office. 
   
• The DIS contract form is to be signed by the student, supervising teacher, school counselor, parent, department supervisor, and assistant principal. No DIS will be approved unless all portions of the form are completed and all necessary signatures secured.
   
• Teacher participation in DIS is voluntary. Teachers may, but are not required to oversee more than one DIS per semester.
   
• Specific, mutually agreed upon criteria for evaluation of the student's achievement must be a part of the DIS contract. All DIS contracts will be graded on a PASS/FAIL basis.
   
• A DIS should be in addition to the required minimum of 5 credits, unless otherwise approved by administration.

Requests for PASS/FAIL grading must be made through the school counselor. This request must be approved by the assistant principal, school counselor, classroom teacher, and subject area department supervisor. Each request will be considered on its merit, although students will not receive approval for more than one PASS/FAIL request for a given course. PASS/FAIL grades do not count in determining GPA and may impact honor roll status.

Students with excessive absences, as defined by missing 25% of the course or requiring substantial modifications to their curriculum, will be required to use the PASS/FAIL option.  This decision will be made through PPT, 504 meeting, or Action/SST meeting in collaboration with the assistant principal, school counselor, and subject area department supervisor.

Students who enter the school from a foreign country and experience difficulty with the English language or who have been identified as English Language learners (ELs) may, with appropriate approval from the subject area department supervisor, ESOL teacher, and school counselor, elect to use the PASS/FAIL option instead of letter grades.

Courses that are taken more than once will be included on the student's transcript and figured in the student's GPA. However, credit toward graduation will not be granted more than once, with the exception of performing arts courses, special work experience programs, or other individual cases with prior approval. Students are not allowed to repeat a course in order to replace the original grade.

Students transferring into West Hartford Public Schools will have transfer credit listed on their transcript, including those from accredited Home School program Non-accredited Home School program transfers will be subject to further program review to determine if credit is transferable. Transfer credits will be determined and awarded for those courses that align with our course offerings and credit system. Course grades from previous schools are not listed on a WHPS High School transcript. Grade point average (GPA) will be computed based only on the student’s work in WHPS. The previous school’s grades will not be factored into the GPA. Upon graduation or transfer out of the WHPS system, any transcript from previous schools will be sent with the WHPS transcript upon request.

A transcript is a written record of a student's academic accomplishments in grades 9-12, composed of courses taken, credit and grades earned and grade point average. It is routinely sent, upon written request, to colleges, employers, or scholarship agencies. A transcript release form signed by a parent/guardian is required prior to release of a transcript.