Tippecanoe Valley Discusses Graduation Requirements Amid COVID-19
By Maggie Kenworthy
InkFreeNews
AKRON — The monthly Tippecanoe Valley School Board work session was live-streamed on Facebook from the administration office Thursday night, April 16. The main item of business discussed was the grading policy regarding the high school’s graduating class.
TVHS Principal Brandon Kresca told the board that most of the school’s procedures are suggestions from the Indiana Department of Education and the US Department of Education.
“If a kid on March 19, was in all the classes that they needed and they were on pace, they are eligible to be considered a graduate,” said Kresca. “The only kind of technicality is whether they earn the credit or not … In order to receive a credit for the class the senior is enrolled in, they need to participate in 160 days of school and continue through the end to earn their grade.”
Seniors who fail a class will still graduate, but that student would receive an incomplete for the course on their transcript.
“I don’t anticipate that being an issue, our seniors have done a really great job throughout this,” said Kresca.
GPA calculations and class rankings were frozen as of Jan.7. This means that grades from the second semester aren’t being included in these calculations.
“It’s something we’ve never had to deal with before, “ said School Board President Aaron Zolman. “Brandon, kudos to you and your team for putting this together. It looks like you guys have done thorough research and put together things nicely for the seniors.”
Kresca also explained the updated grading policies for the freshman, sophomores and seniors.
These three classes are also expected to participate in 160 days of school and will continue to receive grades for their courses. No final exams will be required, but teachers may still choose to give a final but they will not be weighed as heavily as a normal school year.
Teachers will give students what was referred to as a “running grade.” This means that teachers will look at the student’s grade as of the end of the third quarter and evaluate off of that. These three classes will still receive GPAs and class rankings
Letters will be sent out to students and parents via Skyword email to further address these changes.
The regular school board meeting being held at 6 p.m. Monday, April 20, will also be live-streamed from the corporation’s Facebook page.