Grading, Course Credit, Scheduling and Attendance

Class Rank, Grade Point Average and Honor Graduates
See Isle of Wight County School Board policy IHE: Class Rank and IHE-R: Class Ranking/Grade Point Averages/Honor Graduates.

Grading, Course Credit and Weighting
See information on the Isle of Wight School Board policy
IHE-R: Class Ranking/Grade Point Averages/Honor Graduates and IHD-R: Grades and Grading Periods.

Promotion/Retention
See information on the Isle of Wight School Board policy
JECC and JECC-R: Promotion and Retention .

Attendance/Truancy
See information on the Isle of Wight School Board policy JED and JED-R: Student Absences/Excuses/Dismissal .

Schedule Changes/Course Drops

Course sections are filled and balanced using student course selections made in the spring as a basis for efficient administrative planning and scheduling. Course Request Change forms are sent home in June. At this time parents and students can make final adjustments to requests. While we ask that all students and parents select appropriate courses, we know that sometimes students do not succeed in all courses and the necessity to re-take a class exists. We will honor requests for a change if an error on the schedule is identified, but we must limit class changes to legitimate reasons. After schedules are complete course changes will only be considered under the following provisions:

Course changes will be considered only with parental request and administrator approval and if a suitable alternative placement is found.
A student may only drop and add a course until the 5th scheduled class meeting. No student may add a course after the 5th class meeting.

Students should see their counselor to determine the potential outcomes should they drop a course and the impact on the grade-point average and diploma type. The following grade reporting policies will be followed when dropping a course:

If a student drops a course after the 5th scheduled class meeting and prior to the 10th scheduled class meeting the course will not be recorded on the student’s permanent record.
If a student drops the course after the 15th scheduled class meeting, a grade of “F” will be recorded for that course on the permanent record. This will be computed into the grade-point average.

Level changes, for example, from honors to regular, will be considered until five days past the first marking period. The student’s current grade will transfer forward to the new course. The principal may review and approve level changes beyond the five days.

The drop/add date for DE courses will be determined by the sponsoring college. If a student drops after the drop date, the student is responsible for the tuition fee.

High School Course Work
All students will be expected to maintain the full-day schedule of classes required to meet the minimum standards necessary for graduation established by the Virginia Board of Education. Seniors may request a late arrival or early release, but the request must be approved by the principal. Courses are offered at each high school based on student selection and interest. Therefore, all courses may not be offered at each site. School guidance counselors will work very closely with students and parents to develop academic and career plans.

Transfer Information
See information provided on the Virginia Department of Education website at https://www.doe.virginia.gov/parents-students/for-parents/information-for-transfer-students .

Transfer Information for Active-Duty Military Families
See information provided on the Virginia Department of Education website at https://www.doe.virginia.gov/programs-services/student-services/vulnerable-students-wellbeing-student-success/military-families/resources.

Placement of Home Instruction Students
See information provided on the Virginia Department of Education website at http://www https://www.doe.virginia.gov/parents-students/for-parents/home-instruction and Isle of Wight County School policy LBD: Home Instruction and JECB: Admission of Nonpublic students for Part-Time Enrollment.

Request to earn Standard Units of Credit outside of Isle of Wight County Schools
Students seeking high school credit for courses not offered by Isle of Wight County Schools must receive prior written approval from the principal before enrolling in a course desiring credit. In requesting alternative methods for credit the following guidelines have been established:

1. A parent/guardian meets with the student’s school counselor prior to requesting permission to enroll in other accredited secondary schools or programs of study if credit for these courses is desired. The purpose of this meeting is to review the student’s academic plan and discuss alternative methods for receiving credit for courses not offered by Isle of Wight County Schools.

2. A parent/guardian must submit in writing thirty (30) days prior to enrollment a request to the principal to enroll in another program of study outside of Isle of Wight County Schools for which an alternative method for receiving credit is desired.

3. In the letter the parent/guardian must include (1) the reason(s) for enrolling in this program of study, (2) course description including time allotment and (3) provide copies of the course or program of study objectives and table of contents of text book or other resources to be used for instruction.

4. The principal will respond in writing to the parent/guardian within ten (10) working days of receiving the request for an alternative method for credit as to whether or not approval will be given for the student to enroll in the program of study. If the enrollment request is denied, the principal will state the reason(s) for denying the request.

5. The parent/guardian may appeal the decision of the principal to the assistant superintendent within five (5) days of receiving the principal’s decision. The assistant superintendent will render a written decision within 10 working days of the parent or guardian’s appeal. This decision is final.