8440

High School Graduation marks certification by the South Kingstown Public Schools that a student completed the necessary obligations and demonstrated the necessary proficiency to earn a high school diploma. Proficiencies in academic areas shall be based on the grade 10 Grade Span Expectations (GSE) as set by the Rhode Island Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education (BoR). The requirements for a South Kingstown High School Diploma shall be as set by the School Committee and published annually in the High School’s Program of Studies. Such requirements shall be consistent with Rhode Island Board of Regents Regulations. Except as noted in Policy 8435 regarding a Certificate of Attendance and Honorary Veterans, only students who demonstrate fulfillment of graduation requirements and proficiencies shall participate in the graduation ceremony.

1. Completion of required coursework credits, both in total and for specific subjects. Such coursework shall include end of course examinations and tasks that assure common expectations and proficiencies. Course requirements for graduation shall be as set by the School Committee.

2. Completion of a portfolio including work samples that, when viewed in combination with other graduation requirements, demonstrate that necessary proficiencies are met. Portfolio standards shall be as approved by the School Committee.

The purposes of proficiency graduation and this resulting policy are (1) to assure that graduates possess the knowledge and skill intended and (2) to describe the manner in which proficiency is demonstrated. To these ends, the following principles are adopted:

1. While there are multiple requirements for graduation, proficiencies only need to be met once. A student who has demonstrated meeting proficiency shall not be denied a diploma for that proficiency. Meeting proficiency, however, is not the same as meeting a graduation obligation or requirement.

2. Students shall have multiple opportunities and support to demonstrate proficiency. Our goal is to get students to be proficient, and the provision of both scaffolded support and multiple opportunities to become proficient are key elements to getting all students to proficiency. Ways in which students may demonstrate proficiency include state assessments that include proficiencies, coursework that include proficiencies, portfolio submissions that demonstrate proficiencies.

3. Access to instruction designed to get to students to proficiency is central to the achievement of proficiency. To that end, all students in South Kingstown shall have access to curriculum and instruction designed to make them proficient as shall be required of them to graduate.

4. Proficiency graduation is based on mutual, shared accountability. The school district is accountable for an educational program designed to get to proficiency. Students are accountable for participation in and completion of their program.

All requirements must be met prior to graduation. Graduation shall be available to students when all requirements are met. The following policy timelines are included to guide staff and students in completion of the requirements for a diploma and are guidelines, not requirements. In other words, a diploma shall not be denied for proficiencies and requirements fulfilled after the dates herein, but prior to graduation. The high school shall communicate to families and students benchmarks along this timeline.

1. Coursework should be completed on a reasonable and manageable schedule throughout the high school career. It is unwise to delay much required work until later years. School guidance shall support students and families in this effort.

2. The school’s timeline for portfolio completion shall provide for completion prior to the end of the junior year. This timeline provides an opportunity for students desiring to concurrently enroll in higher education during their senior year and for students whose portfolio fails to demonstrate proficient work to remedy both the proficiency and the portfolio submission in time for graduation.

3. Proficiency in Arts and Technology may be demonstrated by students at any time and based on either in or out of school activity. It is understood that some students may even enter high school having demonstrated proficiency in these and other areas. Again, demonstration of proficiency does not substitute for other graduation requirements.

The determination of which students do and do not meet graduation requirements shall be based on a fair and reliable system. Students who believe that they have been improperly denied a diploma may utilize the school system’s appeal procedure (policy 2140) through administrative steps to the Principal, Superintendent, School Committee, and Commissioner of Education.

2. Portfolios and demonstrations of Arts and Technology proficiency shall be assessed according to procedures determined by the High School Principal, approved by the Superintendent, and presented to the School Committee. Any portfolio or demonstration found to be insufficient for graduation shall be re-evaluated by at least one other reviewer or reviewing body.

State assessments are given to high school students according to a timetable determined by the BoR. Students who score as proficient on state assessments shall be judged as proficient on those GSE measured therein. It will not be necessary for such students to repeat their demonstration of proficiency. This shall not be construed as waiving any course requirements for graduation; as such coursework subsumes proficiencies beyond those measured by state assessments.

It is recognized that students entering the school system near to graduation may have difficulty completing graduation requirements, particularly if they transfer from a school with substantially different requirements. Consequently, the following standards shall be used for transferring students.

1. Students entering South Kingstown with two or more years of work necessary prior to graduation (typically before the start of the junior year) shall meet all requirements in order to receive a South Kingstown diploma.

2. Students entering South Kingstown with less than two years of work necessary prior to graduation (typically after the start of the junior year) from a Rhode Island high school with a graduation system approved by the Rhode Island Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, may complete the requirements of their prior school, subject to the supervision and standards of that school. A student exercising this option must do so in writing, cosigned by parents if under 18 years of age.

3. Students entering South Kingstown with less than two years of work necessary prior to graduation (typically after the start of the junior year) from any high school not covered in #2 above may request to graduate under the provisions of their former high school subject to the comparability of standards. Such demonstration of comparability shall be the responsibility of the student and family and subject to the approval of the principal. A student exercising this option must do so in writing, cosigned by parents if under 18 years of age.

4. Individual cases that, for reason, may not be addressed by this policy may be addressed on a case by case basis based on the recommendation of the High School Principal and subject to the approval of the Superintendent of Schools.

These graduation requirements and policy take effect with the Class of 2008. It is understood, however, that this graduation system, developed and implemented in compliance with BoR regulations, represents a way of determining graduation substantially different than the one it succeeds. Consequently, the BoR has indicated that a flexible timeline for the implementation of requirements may be possible. Consequently, and in accordance with approval of the BoR, components of the Portfolio and Arts and Technology demonstrations may be implemented in a phased manner. Such phased implementation shall be done with the approval of the School Committee.