April 24, 2020
Dear Middle and High School Families:
Our hope is this letter finds you all doing well and safe. We hope that you are having a productive second week of mandatory Planned Instruction remote learning. While we miss seeing our students each day, we are grateful for your partnership as we work to deliver a positive remote learning experience for your children.
Fourth Nine Weeks Grading
After careful consideration of a variety of models (from other schools) and in collaboration with teachers and administrators, our 4th Nine Weeks grading system for students will be modified. This modification reflects and acknowledges the difference in delivery of instruction for our students, from face-to-face to remote learning during the mandated school closure.
As we considered all possible options, a driving force in decision-making was ensuring that the chosen system erred on the side of benefiting students while at the same time considered teachers’ work in an entirely new delivery model.
The table below outlines the modifications:
Descriptor
Exceeds Expectations
Percentage Range
Assigned Grade Point Value
75 - 100%
4.0
Meets Expectations
60 - 74%
3.0
Below Expectations
0 - 59%
2.0
*Corresponding weights for Dual Enrollment, Advanced Placement, and Honors level courses will still be applied.
A review of postsecondary institutions’ responses to the COVID-19 situation, particularly as it relates to their interpretation of high school transcripts from the spring 2020 semester, indicates that these institutions will examine student records through the lens of whatever grading system a school district chooses to implement. Further, students will be neither penalized nor considered differently should their high schools have alternative reporting methods during this time.
Attendance
With the PA’s mandatory remote education learning requirement, you may be wondering about attendance. We are keeping things simple. Attendance will be based upon whether your child(ren) participate and complete assignments or not. If students are engaged in work from teacher Google Classrooms and making a BEA attempt to do their best, they receive credit for attendance that day/week.
Conclusion
We trust that this new grading structure and attendance recording enables students to have the greatest opportunity at being successful with an awareness of the ever-changing dynamics of this pandemic. By considering a new system’s effect on students’ educational experiences, individualized instructional goals, and future educational pursuits, we are confident that our reporting system for the 4th Nine Weeks will match and articulate the many variables we face today.
Should you have any questions specific to your child, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s school counselor, their classroom teacher, or a member of the Middle/High administrative team. They will do their best to respond quickly to your inquiries Monday-Friday between 8:00 AM and 3:20 PM. Stay Safe. Stay Healthy.
Sincerely yours,
Dr. Joseph H. Clapper, Interim Superintendent Bald Eagle Area School District