SECTION IV ACADEMIC POLICIES

1. Requirements for Graduation: Pacific Grove High School shall graduate and grant a diploma to any pupil who satisfactorily completes the following requirements ( All information regarding course selection and course offerings may be obtained in the course bulletin which is distributed home each spring. Copies may also be obtained on the school web site www.pghs.org) :

a) Credits: To earn a diploma from Pacific Grove High School, the student must earn a minimum of 230 units of credits.

b) Class Standing Credit Requirement:

1) Sophomore Class Standing: Completion of 50 credits

2) Junior Class Standing: Completion of 110 credits

3) Senior Class Standing: Completion of 170 credits

c) Required Subjects: 165 units must be in the subjects listed below:

1) 40 units (4 years) of English;

2) 20 units (1 year) of Physical Science and (1 year) of Life Science;;

3) 20 units (2 years) of Mathematics;

4) 10 units (1 year) of 12th grade Social Science: 5 units of Government/Civics and 5 units of Economics;

5) 10 units (1 year) of 11th grade United States History or Advanced Placement United States History;

6) 10 units (1 year) of 10th grade Social Science: 10 units of World History;

7) 10 units (1 year) of 9th grade Social Science: 10 units of Physical and Cultural Geography;

8) 10 units (1 year) of Driver Education/Health/Computers;

9) 20 units of Physical Education, required for grades 9 and 10;

10) 10 units (1 year) of Fine Arts or Foreign Language;

11) 5 units (1 semester) of vocational education;

12) Completion of 65 credits of electives;

d) Community Service: All students complete 24 hours of community service to receive a diploma. Final credit for community service hours is at the discretion or the assistant principle.  Community Service opportunities are listed in the daily bulletin on a regular basis. Students are encouraged to arrange for community service experiences with Boy or Girl Scouts, Salvation Army, American Heart Association, local schools, libraries or churches, or any other non-profit agency of their choice, including a maximum of 12 hours for science camp counseling. Community service hours must be completed outside of school hours. Forms must be on file with the office by the beginning of the first graduation rehearsal in order to participate in the graduation ceremony and receive a diploma. See Senior Expectations for additional requirements.

e) Minimum Competency Tests: Students must pass the California High School Exam (CASHEE) in order to receive a diploma.

f) Debts and Fines: In order to receive a diploma a student must satisfy all graduation requirements and have cleared all debts and fines (Ed Code 48904(a)(1) and (b)(1). Fines for lost books or late books should be paid to the librarian. All other fines should be paid to the ASB/ Attendance Clerk.

g) Non-graduates: Students not graduating with their class must complete all requirements by Aug. 30 of the current school year to be granted a diploma from Pacific Grove High School.

2. Semester Schedule: Freshmen, sophomores and juniors are required to enroll in a minimum of six classes each semester. Seniors must enroll in a minimum of five classes each semester. We will accept one class per accredited institution per semester for credit and for meeting the minimum number of classes the student needs to be enrolled.

3. Honor Roll: To qualify for the highest honors, students must achieve a grade point average of 4.0 or higher; high honors: 3.50-3.99; honors: 3.0-3.49. All classes taken in grades 9-12 will count toward the cumulative grade point average. Advanced placement or honors classes are worth an extra grade point for a grade of "A", "B" or "C."

4. Senior English and Government Economic Classes: All seniors must enroll in English 4 or AP English 4 and Government/ Economics classes at Pacific Grove High School unless the counselor grants a waiver to this requirement

5. Taking College Classes for High School Credit: Students who choose to take college classes and transfer them back to the high school for credit may do so under the following guidelines, the student must meet with their counselor and secure permission prior to enrolling in the college class.  Mathematics classes covering (Algebra 1 and above), foreign language classes and science classes with a lab will all be worth ten high school credits (with the exception of Statistics which is worth five high school credits.)  Students must request that the college send transcripts.  Credit for physical education classes will be determined by the number of hours the class meets during the term. All other three credit classes at the college level will be worth five high school credits when transferred back to the high school. The Pacific Grove High School counseling office calculates the amount of high school credits a student receives for college classes by evaluating the amount of curriculum the college class covers and laying that over to parallel high school class curriculum.

As an example, an MPC Algebra I class is a semester-long class. The Pacific Grove High School counseling office has determined that the MPC Algebra I class curriculum covers the entire Pacific Grove High School Algebra I curriculum so, therefore, the transfer of those college credits is a full year’s worth of Pacific Grove High School math credit (10 credits). Students will be able to transfer back to the high school one college class from an accredited institution per semester. Continuing education classes cannot be counted for academic credit. Questions regarding the above policies should be directed to the high school guidance office.

6.Online Courses: Online courses offered by an accredited institution and given academic credit will be accepted for high school credit only with prior counselor approval. Exams must be proctored by school personnel and approved by the counselors. It is the responsibility of the student to arrange exams in accordance with the individual requirements of the online course. Online courses fall under the guidelines of college classes, i.e., students may take one college class or one online course per institution, per semester for high school credit.

7.Contract P.E.  (P.E. classes taken elsewhere) is available to 10th-12th graders only after approval by both the head of the P.E. Department, the student's counselor and an administrator.

8.Grades: Report cards are issued four times during the school year. The first progress report, a temporary, preliminary report, is issued after five weeks of class work. Approximately four weeks later and each nine weeks thereafter, quarter grades are given, with semester grades compiled at the end of the half year and at the close of the spring semester.

a) "F" Grades: "F" grades are earned by a student who refuses to participate in, opposes or fails class work, tests, and/or the minimum requirements for the course. The "F" grade will appear on the student's permanent record and will be included in determining his grade point average. No student will be issued a failing grade unless the teacher has sent home a progress report.

b) Incomplete Grades: An incomplete grade is reserved for a student who has a school authorized absence and has not had the opportunity to make up his/her work prior to the end of a grading period. An incomplete grade must be cleared within ten school days or it will automatically become an "F".

c) No Mark Grades (NM): A "NM" (no mark) may be given to a student who has not been in class long enough to meet the requirements of the course. This will appear on the student's permanent record, but it will not have any bearing in determining the grade point average.

9. Make-Up Work: Make-up work is defined as all classroom work and exams. Homework is the work assigned by a teacher to be completed outside of the classroom.

a) Responsibility: Students are responsible for requesting make-up work and homework after an excused absence. These requests should be made at the teacher's convenience on the day the student returns to school, Tuesday through Friday, regardless if the student has that class that day. If the absence is an extended absence (longer than a week) due to illness or emergency, the parent should contact the student's counselor to facilitate making up both classroom work and homework.

b) Due Dates: The teacher will determine when the make-up work is due.

c) Suspension: Students may request make-up work and homework from their teachers upon returning to school after the period of suspension is over. The make-up work will be graded, and the student will receive credit for that work. If the student is suspended for longer than one day, the parent may request a homework packet via the Attendance Office that can be picked up from the counseling office by the parent or a friend of the student between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. (The suspended student is not allowed on campus during the period of suspension.) This homework will be due to the teacher upon return to school. In lieu of requesting homework during the time of a suspension that is longer than one day, the student would contact the teacher upon return to school and receive their assignment and a due date for the missed work at that time.

d) All students are encouraged to get information about classroom work and homework by calling friends, calling teacher homework hotlines (when available per individual teachers) or by checking on the Internet for assignments when made available by particular teachers in this manner.

e) Final Exams: Students are responsible for contacting the school and arranging to make up exams. Students missing final examinations will receive an incomplete on their report card. An incomplete grade not made up within ten school days will become an "F."

10. Program Changes: Counselors may make changes for students who are missing graduation requirements, course prerequisites or have no prior instructor approval. Students may also have a schedule changed if there was an error made or if class size needs to be balanced. Any student dropped from a class for reaching the final step on a Behavior Nonperformance Contract may have his schedule rearranged in order to preserve a contiguous schedule. Students enrolled in a year-long class may withdraw at the semester with a "D" or "F" grade and parent approval. Student-initiated schedule changes will be considered only during the first ten (10) days of each semester. A parent signature is required. Student-initiated drops after the first 10 days require a parent/counselor conference and input from the teacher of the class being dropped.

11. Transfers to Alternative Programs: Students at Community High School or Independent Study may return to Pacific Grove High School at the beginning of a semester only after attending an entire semester at Community High School or Independent Study. Students must take all required classes normally associated with the semester in which they return.

12. Class Rank for Valedictorian: Starting with the class of 2006, the GPAs for the top students will be recalculated at the end of the Junior year based on a capped total of 170 credits. For each student, the 170 credits will include all of their academic work and grades from all other classes required for graduation plus whichever non-academic elective grades the student selects to bring their total to 170 credits. This will be calculated again at the end of the 7th semester based on a capped total of 200 credits using the same process as above.

13.STAR Testing:  STAR testing is administered to students grade 9 through 11 every year. This is mandated testing by the state. It is vital that all students participate and give their best effort. Results from STAR testing will be one of the criteria used to determine eligibility for honors and AP classes at PGHS. Additionally, results from STAR may be used for college placement.

14. AP Testing:  In order to participate in an AP exam, students must be enrolled in the particular AP course at Pacific Grove High School.