ACADEMIC POLICY
The curriculum of De La Salle Institute is
designed to provide the student with a comprehensive education rooted firmly in
the traditions of the Catholic faith.
The sequence of courses is designed to develop the student spiritually,
academically, artistically and physically.
Since De La Salle is a comprehensive high school, the curriculum is
structured to provide a thorough education, while meeting the individual needs
of the student. To provide such an
education, De La Salle offers a wide range of programs leading to the
diploma. The De La Salle curriculum
includes an Honors Program, a College Preparatory Program, and a General
Studies Program. A full description of the curriculum may be found in the
Curriculum Guide published annually.
HONORS
PROGRAM
Honors Program students will be required to take six classes each year
and a minimum of five Honors Classes as specified in the Curriculum Guide. In addition, two years of science are
required: honors biology and either chemistry or physics. To graduate with an
Honors diploma, the student must also maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or
above and successfully complete the Independent Honors Research Project
(SS259).
COLLEGE
PREPARATORY PROGRAM
De La Salle offers a program to prepare students for college work. The courses and sequences listed in the
Curriculum Guide are designed to provide the student with sufficient background
for a college education.
THE
LASALLE COLLEGE PREP PROGRAM
The LaSalle College Prep Program is designed to provide students with the
opportunity to study college preparatory courses at a less rigorous pace. It is
designed to prepare the student for entrance into college, junior college,
professional school and/or the workplace.
COURSE LOAD
Students must
register for 6.0 credits during freshman and sophomore year. For junior and senior year, students must
register for at least 5.5 credits. Seniors
scheduling 6.0 credits will be assessed an extra fee. Students not choosing 6 credits will be
assigned a Study Hall. Students in the
Honors Program must schedule 6.0 credits per academic year. Except for freshman
year, 5.0 credits must be in Honors courses to maintain status in the Honors
Program.
REQUIREMENTS
FOR GRADUATION
The
following 23 credits are required for graduation:
6.25
credits Division of Social Sciences
- to be distributed in the following way:
3.5 credits
in Religion (4 years of Religion)
1.0 credit
in World History
1.5 credit
in U.S. History
(includes American Government & Constitution Exam)
0.25 credit
in Consumer Ed/Word Processing
6.5
credits Division of Language Arts
-to
be distributed in the following way:
4.0 credits
in English
2.0 credits
in Foreign Language
.5 credit in Fine Arts
6.25
credits Division of Applied Sciences
-to be distributed in the following way:
3.0 credits
in Mathematics
2.5 credits
in Science (includes 1.0 credit in Biology)
0.75 credits
in Physical Education
4.0
credits in Elective Courses
-included, but
not limited to: math, science, drawing, electronics, drama, band, art,
accounting, law,
language and
history.
Transfer students to De La Salle are subject to the requirements listed
on their individual Academic Agreement filed by the Assistant Principal. If a student transfers from a public school
to De La Salle, the requirement for religion is waived for the time spent in
public school.
PARTICIPATION
IN GRADUATION
In order to participate in the graduation
exercises, a student has to have met all the requirements listed above. Students deficient in any credits or failing
any senior courses, whether required or elective, will not be allowed to
participate in the graduation exercises.
PROMOTION
A student's promotion from year to year is
based upon the satisfactory completion of all courses in which he/she is
enrolled in the academic year.
SOPHOMORE
YEAR
6.0
credits in all required subjects for the previous year.
JUNIOR
YEAR
12
credits in all required subjects for the previous years.
SENIOR
YEAR
17.5 credits in all required subjects for the previous
years.
GRADUATION
23 credits
including all required subjects and passing grades in all senior classes.
A student deficient in credits and/or
failing any classes for the semester must make up those classes in De La
Salle's Summer School. This includes
non-required extra subjects that the student may take. The student must attend summer school the
year he/she fails in order to return to De La Salle the following year.
A
student deficient in any credit may not return or be admitted to De La Salle.
A senior who is deficient in credit may be
given special permission by the Assistant Principal to attend night school to
make up deficiencies in order to graduate.
In order to participate in the graduation ceremonies, a student must
have all requirements completed.
Enrollment in a night school course at the time of graduation does not
ensure participation in the ceremony.
The final transcript from the night school must be on file with the
Assistant Principal in order to participate in graduation.
GRADES
The grades issued on the report card
have the following meanings:
A –– (93-100%) This
is the highest achievement in the subject being rated.
B — (85-92%) This grade
indicates performance of above average quality.
C — (76-84%) This grade
indicates accomplishment with an average grasp of the subject.
D — (70-75%) This grade
indicates a deficiency in the mastery of knowledge and skills of the course.
F — (below 70%) This grade
indicates that the student has not fulfilled the minimum requirements of the
course. A student with a grade of “F”
receives no credit for the course.
I — Incomplete is not a
grade. It is used only in the case of a
student who has not met the minimum requirements of the course due to
circumstances beyond his/her control. An
incomplete automatically becomes failure unless the work is completed during
the following three weeks of school or unless the time is extended by the
Assistant Principal.
WP or WF — (Withdrew Passing or
Withdrew Failing) This grade is issued to a student who
has dropped a class and has maintained a passing average (WP) or a failing
average (WF). Neither grade generates
credit and such a grade cannot count in Grade Point Average (GPA) nor toward
graduation. Application for a WP or WF
grade must be made before the end of the sixth week of the semester. The schedule change fee applies in this
case. Required subjects and required
electives that are dropped must be made up in summer school. Withdrawal dates are listed on the calendar.
The school is on a quarterly report card system. Therefore, the final grade is a weighted
average of the first and second quarter grades and the semester exam of each
semester. The two quarter grades are
worth a total of 75% of the grade and the semester exams are worth 25% of the
grade. Two successive F grades in
either the two quarters or the last quarter and the semester exam will result
in a semester failure.
MID-QUARTER
REPORTS
At approximately midpoint in the grading period, teachers complete a
special report for all students. These
reports are to be taken home to the student's parents for a signature. A copy of the report is sent to the student's
counselor. Parents should make every
effort to contact the teacher and follow his/her suggestions for the student's
improvement. The dates of these notices
are on the calendar.
GRADE
QUALITY POINTS
De La Salle has five levels of courses according to the content and
ability level. To maintain the ranking process of an equitable level for all
categories, a distinction is made in assigning quality points for each
level. The levels and quality points are
listed below.
Honors
Course - Students taking this level are expected to do work of superior
quality in a course of accelerated material.
(A-5.0, B-4.0,
C-2.75, D-1.0, F-0)
Advanced Course
- Students in this course are expected to be of above average ability and
perform accordingly in a course of advanced content. (A-4.5, B-3.5, C-2.5, D-1.0, F-0)
Regular Course
- This is an average level high school course and students are expected to do
the average work required of a high school student. (A-4.0, B-3.0, C-2.0,
D-1.0, F-0)
General Course
- This is a course which is at the basic level and designed for the students
who have some difficulty in the particular area covered. (A-3.85, B-2.85, C-2.0, D-1.0,
F-0)
The level
designation of particular courses may be found in the Curriculum Guide
published annually.
GRADE
POINT AVERAGE
The grade point average (GPA) that appears on the report card is the
average grade of the student for the entire time he/she has been in high
school. This average is based on an A
being equal to 4.00, a B being equal to 3.00, a C being equal to 2.00 and a D
being equal to 1.00
CLASS
RANK
The class rank tells how the student has done in comparison with all the
other students in that grade. Students
are ranked on the basis of their semester grades.
HONOR
ROLL
Honor Roll is based on letter grades, not
grade point average. “A” Honor Roll - Four “A’s” and the remainder of grades
“B”. “B” Honor Roll- “B” Average and no
grade lower than “C”. No “U” Application Grades.
FAILURES
A student who receives a grade of “F” for the semester is required to
make up that semester's work in De La Salle's Summer School during the
following summer.
In some courses, second semester
work is so closely dependent upon the material mastered during the first
semester that success in the second semester indicates a mastery of the
material from the first semester. Hence,
a student who attains at least a “C” in the second semester in a foreign
language, science, accounting, mathematics, or technical drawing, after having
failed the course for a first semester can have the failure removed and a “D”
given for each semester.
SCHEDULE
CHANGES
Schedule changes must be made BEFORE the beginning of each
semester. Applications can be picked up
from the Assistant Principal's office.
There is a $40.00 processing charge.
No changes will be made once the semester begins.
TRANSCRIPTS
A transcript is the official record of a student's grades, standardized
test scores, and grade point average.
This official record is kept for sixty (60) years after the student
graduates, transfers or permanently withdraws from school. These records are destroyed after the sixty-year
period.
The student or parent/guardian (if student has not reached legal age)
may request copies of the student's permanent record any time before the
destruction of his/her record. These
requests must be made in writing to the school registrar and be accompanied by
the transcript fee of $5.00 per copy. No
transcripts will be sent unless all financial obligations to the school have
been met.
TRANSFER
STUDENTS
The following policies regarding credits will be used when evaluating
the status of transfer students.
1. If
a student transfers from a public school, the requirement for religion is
waived for the time they attended the public school.
2. If the student
transfers from a Catholic high school which offers only one-half credit of
religion per year, the one full credit requirement is waived for the time
he/she attended the other Catholic school.
3. A student must have
passed physical education each year that he/she took it at the previous
school. If a school did not require
physical education in a given year, De La Salle waives the requirement for that
year.
4. Electives not
offered at De La Salle are counted as electives toward graduation, if the
student's previous school so counted them.
5. All other
requirements for graduation from De La Salle must be taken and passed.
6. All transfer
students, having fulfilled all academic requirements for admittance to De La
Salle, will be admitted on Transfer Student Probation.
7. All transfer
students and their parents are required to read and be familiar with the
Student Handbook in the area of Conduct and Discipline.
8. All transfer
students and their parents are required to meet with the Principal and sign a
statement indicating that they, and their parents, have read the section in the
Student Handbook on Conduct and Discipline, and are willing to follow all
policies and procedures to the letter, concerning Conduct and Discipline here
at De La Salle.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
De La Salle
students are warned against cheating or plagiarism of any kind on all academic
work including standardized examinations.
Failure to abide by this will result in zero or no credit for that test
or assignment. This generally leads to a
failing grade for that quarter or for the semester average. Repeated offenses could lead to expulsion
SCHOLASTIC
INELIGIBILITY
Students who have two or more failures when grades are posted at the end
of first and/or third quarter are ineligible to participate in any
extra-curricular activities or sports.
Ineligibility includes practices, games, or club meetings and
activities. Students may apply to the
Assistant Principal for reinstatement ten school days after grades are posted.
Students who have two or more failures when grades are posted at the end
of the first and/or second semester are ineligible to participate in any
extra-curricular activities or sports.
Ineligibility includes practices, games, or club meetings and
activities, and continues until grades are made up in De La Salle Summer School.
