POLICY STATEMENTS

1.  Repeating Classes.  A student has the right to repeat a course.  If the course is successfully completed, the higher grade would be placed on the student's record and the lower grade is removed.   No additional credit is earned.
 

2.  Religion Classes.  Students that transfer from private or parochial schools that have successfully completed classes in Religion may receive up to one general elective credit on a pass/fail basis.
 

3.  Final Exams.  All students may be expected to take the final exam for the course in which they are enrolled.  Students in their second semester of their senior year with a B+ or above may elect to take or not to take their second semester final exam.  Juniors’ second semester final exams are waived  if they successfully complete all of the MEAP and the 10^th grade TestU assessment.  Seniors can also earn an exemption from final exams in their second semester through their MEAP scores.  If  they passed a portion of the MEAP, they are exempt from taking an exam in a like subject area.
 

4.  Physical Fitness Waiver.  Ninth Grade Physical Fitness/Health is required of all students.  Students may waive the second 1/2 credit of Physical Fitness by successfully competing and completing any two seasons of a sport offered at Western High School.  This may be two seasons in one sport or one season in two or more sports.

5.  Individual Assessment in Lieu of Course.  Students may request to demonstrate mastery of the content in a required course at Western High School.  This assessment may include not only an examination, but also written reports, research papers, a portfolio or other assessments required within the course.  Students cannot earn credit toward graduation through this assessment, and can only earn a "pass" notation, that cannot be used in computing their grade point average.  If they earn a "pass" notation in this course or courses, students cannot subsequently request individual assessment for a prior course in the sequence, or enroll in a lower course sequence in the same subject.

6.  Oral Communications Waiver.  Students may waive the requirement for Oral Communications if they successfully complete one semester of Debate or one semester of Forensics.

7.   College Prep Diploma Endorsement.  Students who have met the terms listed below can receive a College Prep Endorsement from Western High School.  The endorsement is placed on the diploma.  The following courses must be completed to receive the endorsement:

                a.             4 years of English:  English 9, Acc. English 10, American Lit., Composition/AP Lit.

                b.             Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II  (another year beyond strongly recommended)

                c.             American History/Acc. American History

                d.             Ancient/Modern World History

                e.             Biology, Chemistry  (another year beyond strongly recommended)

                f.              2 years same foreign language

                g.             Strongly recommend 2 years hands-on activities such as art, drafting, music

8.    Graduation Requirements.  Students in all classes are subject to several graduation requirements, some from the State of Michigan   and some from the Western Board of Education.  None should alter your high school plans too much, but all are required.  A short list of the requirements is as follows:

                    a.         One semester of a computer class taught on computers must be taken in the high school.

                    b.         One semester of Oral Communication.  There are two substitutions for this requirement: A student passing
                                                    Forensics; a student passing Debate.

                    c.         Practical Law and World Cultures are required freshmen classes.  Government and Economics are required junior
                                               classes.

                    d.         Any required class (specifically mentioned by name in the graduation requirements section of this guide) has to be
                                                      taken at Western High School or Western Options Center.

                    e.         Regular attendance is required in order to pass classes at Western High School.  The complete attendance policy can
                                 be found in the Student Handbook.

In order for a student to participate in graduation-related exercises (Commencement), they have to meet the following criteria:
 

1. Be enrolled and actively working on enough classes during the second semester of their senior year to reach 26 credits.  This might include taking courses through the Options Center or by a school approved correspondence organization.
 

2. By the Friday prior to the Commencement Ceremony, a student must have secured 25 credits in order to be considered for  participation in the Commencement Ceremony.  The HS principal will make the final decision based on the student’s effort leading up to graduation.  Specific IEP plans can alter this requirement.  In either case, if a student has not earned 26 credits by the Friday prior to Commencement, the student will not receive a diploma in their packet following the Commencement Ceremony.