Dear Irvington Students and Families,
I am writing to share an update related to grading. Considering the blend of school- and home-based instruction during the third marking quarter, we arrived at a model that we believe is fair to all students while reflecting their current level of engagement. This approach to developing final grades for the quarter was developed after considerable exploration and discussion with staff and other local districts and employs a guiding philosophy of “Do No Harm”. “Do No Harm” means that students will not be penalized as a result of the shift in instructional model. Such a methodology will look to honor the successes students demonstrated prior to closure and the diligence demonstrated by our students over the subsequent weeks. All assignments that were due prior to March 13th will be entered into grade books to determine the quarter grade as of that date and then all assignments that were due on and between March 16th- April 10th will be considered as a whole and may be used to raise a student’s average.
Quarter 3 grades will be numeric and report cards will be available by 3pm on Tuesday, April 21st. As you know, the last day of Quarter 3 was Friday, April 10th. HAC will be closed at 3pm on Tuesday, April 13th and will reopen on Tuesday, April 21st at 3pm with report cards available.
To begin the 4th Quarter grades will continue to follow our guiding philosophy of “Do No Harm”. During the 4th Quarter, distance-learning assignments will be graded as follows: Pass, Fail or Pass with Distinction if a significant majority of the quarter consists of distance learning. If school was to physically reopen prior to the end of the school year, we will consider potential modifications to this methodology. IHS, along with other high schools in the region, will continue to consider options for the calculation of final grades and GPAs. Please note this approach to grading is being commonly employed across the nation and colleges will understand the methodology that is being implemented. To support students’ applications to college, IHS will develop a supplement to the school profile that will outline how our grading practices were adapted as a result of this international crisis.
Thank you for your continued partnership,
Juliet
