There are some significant changes that are being recommended for implementation as early as the start of next school year.  A brief summary is below;

National Honor Society will be open to eligible Sophomore students after the first 6-weeks of their Sophomore year.  This will allow membership a year earlier than what is currently in place.

An Honors Diploma is being created.  Awarding of an Honors Diploma would require students to have a minimum grade point average, complete community service, pass state assessments, complete (2 or 3) Honors/AP courses and (for 2014-15) complete 4 years of math and science.

Valedictorian status would be awarded to students who have achieved a 4.0 or higher and have completed requirements for an Honors Diploma.

Advance placement (AP) courses may have weighted grading.  In this system an A grade is 5 points, a B grade is 4 points, a C grade is 3 points etc.

With weighted grading in AP courses it is possible for students to complete high school with over a 4.0 GPA.  This has implications for class rank based on GPA.  Under the current system the maximum is a 4.0 GPA.

The changes are being recommended as a way to increase rigor, increase opportunities for students and also encourage student enrollment in AP courses.  The recommendations come out of the work of a high school curriculum committee and a parent advisory committee that met over the course of the fall/winter.

This information is being shared with students in their Language Arts classes.  While these are policies that we would like to implement as early as next school year, we do not want to "harm" any student who will be graduating next year by changing these policies.  We are trying to engage all stakeholders in this discussion.  Please feel free to contact Mr. Everett at the high school if you have questions or comments.