Academic Standards/Grading Policy

This year the minimum passing grade is a C-, or 70%.  Anything less will be considered failing.  There will be no D's given.  No student should fail if he/she completes all homework assignments on time and to the best of his/her ability, including reading, review and study time.

Students who fail a core class for a semester, or who score below basic in the STAR testing, may be required to attend after-school intervention classes, and/or summer school.  Failure to do so may result in a child not being promoted and repeating his/her grade.

Deficiency notices will be sent out any time a student drops to a  C in any class.  While phone calls and emails are used frequently, these deficiency notices serve as a formal notice and are placed in the student’s file.

Promotion/Retention

Students are only promoted to the next grade level when they meet certain standards.  That means they must pass all core classes with a grade of C or better and score Basic or above in STAR testing.  Students who do not reach these levels will be required to attend and pass summer school classes before being promoted.  If not, they will be retained if they remain at Ivy.  Ivy does not socially promote students.

Report Cards

Report cards are issued at the end of each grading period (first quarter, first semester, third quarter, second semester).  By law, only a teacher may change the grade of a student.

Work Experience Credit

Students with jobs and holding valid work permits are eligible to earn work experience credits in high school as electives.

Summer School

Students who fail a core class, are in danger of failing, or who score below Basic in standardized testing, are required to attend summer school before being promoted.  There is no fee for classes that are required.  Other summer enrichment programs may be offered, and these do require a fee.

Classes at Other Schools

Ivy Academia students are encouraged to take meaningful classes from other institutions in order to further or better their education.  Students are free to enroll in college classes to enrich their lives or earn college credit.

Students wishing to take a college-level class for dual credit must meet certain standards, besides getting prior approval from Ivy.  Students should demonstrate the ability to be successful by passing all their current courses and demonstrating good work habits.  This usually means getting a grade of A or B in like courses taken at Ivy or another accredited school, or proving their academic abilities through scores from standardized tests such as STAR, the Stanford, or PSAT.  Work habits, grades, attendance, test scores and teacher recommendations will be factored into the decision.  Note that most colleges require prospective students to pass a test before being admitted into most academic or transferable classes.

Any class or course taken at another school for credit must be approved in advance by the site principal or designee, as well as by the student’s parent.  This includes high school, college or other classes, as well as on-line courses.  This policy covers academic, elective, enrichment and physical education classes, which are taken towards graduation from Ivy.

At least 75% of the courses taken by a student should be taken on site at Ivy Academia, taught by Ivy staff.

At this time, we are not giving permission for courses that students will be taking at Ivy.  Students or parents should contact the school counselor for advisement.

Books and Materials

Ivy will furnish all needed textbooks for students.  Students will be responsible for their condition.  Parents will reimburse Ivy if books are lost or damaged. 

Parents are also expected to provide many of the extra materials used during the year.  All students are required to purchase an Ivy planner in order to keep track of assignments.

High school students are required to purchase novels or check them out at their local libraries.

Syllabi/Course Outlines

All students will be given a syllabus for each class, which is an outline of the materials to be covered during the year.  The syllabus will also contain information on materials, homework, grading, and other important information.

Staff/Faculty Contact

When a situation or question arises that concerns parents, please contact the school immediately.  Most situations concerning your child may be best addressed by speaking to the teacher first.  Often an administrator or counselor will refer questions to the teacher. 

To contact an individual teacher via email please use the following format: the individual’s last name and first initial @ ivyacademia.com.  For example, “John Smith” would be smithj@ivyacademia.com (no spaces in the address).

Electives and Enrichment

All students have some forms of electives or enrichment classes which include the following:

• Kindergarten: music, art and movement. 
• Grades 1-3: music, art, foreign language and physical education. 
• Grades 4-5: music, art, foreign language, physical education and computers. 
• Grades 6-8: art, foreign language, physical education and computers.  These grades also have an elective class, which changes each semester, but usually the choices include chorus and band.
• Grades 9-12: High school students have an array of elective courses offered at various times during their daily schedules.
  

All grades often have available drama and other courses.  (Please note: physical education is required by the state of California.)During the school year, at various grades, such events as field days, chess tournaments, Scrabble contests and other academically fulfilling events are offered; upper grades also experience events such as the Science Fair and Academic Spelling Bee Decathlon.  When possible, Ivy Academia also offers school intramural sports.  Cheerleading is also offered to all grades as an after-school activity, with a nominal fee.

Computers

Students in grades 4 and above have access to computers.  Students are required to sign a contract so that computers and the Internet are not misused or damaged.

Summer Reading

All Ivy students, returning and incoming, will receive a list of novels required to be read during summer.  (The list is also available on the school website.)  Students will be assessed and tested on their reading during the first week of school, and grades will be issued.  Students who do not do their reading and are unprepared when school starts will find themselves starting the year with poor grades.  Some additional reading or projects may be required of students who are accepted into honors.

Summer reading lists can be found in the Programs section of our website.

Criteria For Middle School Certificate of Completion (pdf file - 49 KB)
Ivy High School A-G Course Outline 2010-11 (pdf file - 33 KB)

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