English Department Policies
Late Work Policy
The Late Work Policy for the WHS English Department is as follows: NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED for full credit unless prior approval has been given. If a student is experiencing difficulty in class, a conference with the teacher can be arranged – BEFORE THE PROJECT/ASSIGNMENT IS DUE!
Work will be accepted one day late for 50% credit. Work is considered late if it is not turned in at the beginning of class or the time specified on the assignment itself if it a Google Classroom assignment. Students MAY NOT use class time to hurriedly finish a project or an assignment. To earn the 50% credit, work must be turned in by 3:00 the date after it is due.
In regards to advance notice, long-term, or quarterly/semester projects, if a student is absent on the day a project is due (when the due date has been assigned a week or more in advance), the project is still due on the due date. Students will be warned of this policy.
Academic Dishonesty Policy
The Academic Dishonesty Policy for the WHS English Department is as follows:
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, the kinds of misconduct listed below. Such dishonesty may involve written or spoken communications or those conveyed in electronic form. CHEATING, COPYING, PLAGIARIZING, ETC. WILL RESULT IN AN AUTOMATIC ZERO/REFERRAL! PLAGIARIZE ANY PART OF AN ASSIGNMENT, AND STUDENTS WILL FAIL THE ENTIRE ASSIGNMENT!
A. Cheating
Cheating involves the use of unauthorized or unethical assistance to gain an unfair
advantage over other students. Instances include the following:
1. Use of unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes or examinations;
2. Use of resources beyond those authorized by the instructor in solving problems
or in carrying out other assignments such as writing papers, preparing reports,
or giving oral presentations;
3. Acquisition, dissemination, or use of tests or other academic materials
belonging to an instructor or a member of the staff without prior approval;
4. Hiring or otherwise engaging someone to impersonate a student in taking a quiz
or examination or in fulfilling other academic requirements.
5. Unauthorized collaboration on assignments.
B. Falsification
Falsification involves misrepresentations of fact for academic gain. Instances include the following:
1. Lying to or deceiving an instructor (including but not limited to using previously assigned papers for a current assignment);
2. Fabrication or misrepresentation of the documentation or the data involved in
carrying out assignments;
3. Fabrication, misrepresentation, or unauthorized alteration of information in
academic records belonging to an instructor or to any academic department or
administrative unit within the school.
C. Plagiarism
Plagiarism involves the intentional representation of someone else's thoughts or words as if they were one's own. Instances include the following:
1. Quoting directly from someone else's work without using quotation marks and
without giving proper credit to the author;
2. Paraphrasing someone else's ideas, concepts, arguments, observations, or
statements without giving proper credit;
3. Submitting as one's own work a paper or other assignment that has been prepared,
either wholly or in large part, by another person, group, or commercial firm.
NOTE: Any use of AI to compose, generate, edit, create, etc. any assignment is strictly prohibited. Consequences will follow Academic Dishonesty protocols.
Peer Editing Policies
Peer editing is meant to assist students in the writing process. Students are to follow guidelines provided for each assignment in regards to the specifications on the peer editing sheet given to them, acceptable editing partners, and the locality in which the peer editing is to take place. It is expected that students will act responsibly in all phases of the writing, editing, and revising process.
Placement
The WHS English Department strongly believes in meeting and addressing student academic needs. Making sure that students are placed in the appropriate English class is essential. To help accomplish this goal, various departmental strategies and policies are in place at the high school. One strategy in place is RtI. More information on the English Department’s RtI policy (Response to Intervention – a series of accommodations and strategies in place to assist struggling learners) may be found at http://waterloohighschoolelapage.weebly.com/response-to-intervention.html.
ENGLISH CORE CLASSES: For students to be placed in a CORE class, students must meet academic criteria and be within a pre-set benchmark range.
1. All CORE students will be benchmarked three times a year. This benchmarking will help to measure reading comprehension and fluency and provide essential data for placement.
2. Students who fail to be successful in the Core classroom will be evaluated and assisted using the RtI Flowchart Guidelines for English.
3. Students who, according to Benchmark testing, exceed the acceptable score range for a Core class, after review by the English Department, may be moved to a Regular class. Benchmarking scores may be given precedence over other criteria.
ENGLISH REGULAR CLASSES:
1. Students placed in REGULAR ENGLISH will be monitored for proper placement.
2. Students who are struggling in the regular classroom will be benchmarked to assess ability.
3. Students who are properly placed, yet fail to be successful, will be evaluated and assisted
using the RtI Flow Chart Guidelines and may be referred to PST
4. Students who excel in the Regular class and meet the criteria listed below may be moved to an Honors class.
ENGLISH HONORS CLASSES: For students to be placed in an ENGLISH HONORS CLASS, students must meet the following criteria:
1. To be enrolled in an English Honors class for the next school year, students must earn an A average for the year in an English Regular class or an A or B average for the current year in an English Honors class.
2. Students must have the appropriate recommendation from the members of the English Department. At the discretion of the English Department, recommendations may take priority over the required grade, and an additional example of student work may be required if the student’s placement is in question.
3. Students must meet or exceed on approved standardized test.
4. Students not meeting these prerequisites will not be eligible for enrollment in an English Honors class.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT CLASSES: For students to be enrolled in an Advanced Placement English class, they must show that they are academically prepared for the challenge and rigor of this type of class. In order to assess placement, students will take a pre-test the fall of the year prior to eligibility.
Advanced Placement Language and Composition is the junior-level class.
Advanced Placement Literature and Composition is the senior-level class.
Students may not take an AP class concurrently with any other English class - with the exception of Speech, Drama, or Journalism.
Note:
Depending on student performance, class placement for the next school year may change from the time of initial scheduling to the student’s final placement.
The Late Work Policy for the WHS English Department is as follows: NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED for full credit unless prior approval has been given. If a student is experiencing difficulty in class, a conference with the teacher can be arranged – BEFORE THE PROJECT/ASSIGNMENT IS DUE!
Work will be accepted one day late for 50% credit. Work is considered late if it is not turned in at the beginning of class or the time specified on the assignment itself if it a Google Classroom assignment. Students MAY NOT use class time to hurriedly finish a project or an assignment. To earn the 50% credit, work must be turned in by 3:00 the date after it is due.
In regards to advance notice, long-term, or quarterly/semester projects, if a student is absent on the day a project is due (when the due date has been assigned a week or more in advance), the project is still due on the due date. Students will be warned of this policy.
Academic Dishonesty Policy
The Academic Dishonesty Policy for the WHS English Department is as follows:
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, the kinds of misconduct listed below. Such dishonesty may involve written or spoken communications or those conveyed in electronic form. CHEATING, COPYING, PLAGIARIZING, ETC. WILL RESULT IN AN AUTOMATIC ZERO/REFERRAL! PLAGIARIZE ANY PART OF AN ASSIGNMENT, AND STUDENTS WILL FAIL THE ENTIRE ASSIGNMENT!
A. Cheating
Cheating involves the use of unauthorized or unethical assistance to gain an unfair
advantage over other students. Instances include the following:
1. Use of unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes or examinations;
2. Use of resources beyond those authorized by the instructor in solving problems
or in carrying out other assignments such as writing papers, preparing reports,
or giving oral presentations;
3. Acquisition, dissemination, or use of tests or other academic materials
belonging to an instructor or a member of the staff without prior approval;
4. Hiring or otherwise engaging someone to impersonate a student in taking a quiz
or examination or in fulfilling other academic requirements.
5. Unauthorized collaboration on assignments.
B. Falsification
Falsification involves misrepresentations of fact for academic gain. Instances include the following:
1. Lying to or deceiving an instructor (including but not limited to using previously assigned papers for a current assignment);
2. Fabrication or misrepresentation of the documentation or the data involved in
carrying out assignments;
3. Fabrication, misrepresentation, or unauthorized alteration of information in
academic records belonging to an instructor or to any academic department or
administrative unit within the school.
C. Plagiarism
Plagiarism involves the intentional representation of someone else's thoughts or words as if they were one's own. Instances include the following:
1. Quoting directly from someone else's work without using quotation marks and
without giving proper credit to the author;
2. Paraphrasing someone else's ideas, concepts, arguments, observations, or
statements without giving proper credit;
3. Submitting as one's own work a paper or other assignment that has been prepared,
either wholly or in large part, by another person, group, or commercial firm.
NOTE: Any use of AI to compose, generate, edit, create, etc. any assignment is strictly prohibited. Consequences will follow Academic Dishonesty protocols.
Peer Editing Policies
Peer editing is meant to assist students in the writing process. Students are to follow guidelines provided for each assignment in regards to the specifications on the peer editing sheet given to them, acceptable editing partners, and the locality in which the peer editing is to take place. It is expected that students will act responsibly in all phases of the writing, editing, and revising process.
Placement
The WHS English Department strongly believes in meeting and addressing student academic needs. Making sure that students are placed in the appropriate English class is essential. To help accomplish this goal, various departmental strategies and policies are in place at the high school. One strategy in place is RtI. More information on the English Department’s RtI policy (Response to Intervention – a series of accommodations and strategies in place to assist struggling learners) may be found at http://waterloohighschoolelapage.weebly.com/response-to-intervention.html.
ENGLISH CORE CLASSES: For students to be placed in a CORE class, students must meet academic criteria and be within a pre-set benchmark range.
1. All CORE students will be benchmarked three times a year. This benchmarking will help to measure reading comprehension and fluency and provide essential data for placement.
2. Students who fail to be successful in the Core classroom will be evaluated and assisted using the RtI Flowchart Guidelines for English.
3. Students who, according to Benchmark testing, exceed the acceptable score range for a Core class, after review by the English Department, may be moved to a Regular class. Benchmarking scores may be given precedence over other criteria.
ENGLISH REGULAR CLASSES:
1. Students placed in REGULAR ENGLISH will be monitored for proper placement.
2. Students who are struggling in the regular classroom will be benchmarked to assess ability.
3. Students who are properly placed, yet fail to be successful, will be evaluated and assisted
using the RtI Flow Chart Guidelines and may be referred to PST
4. Students who excel in the Regular class and meet the criteria listed below may be moved to an Honors class.
ENGLISH HONORS CLASSES: For students to be placed in an ENGLISH HONORS CLASS, students must meet the following criteria:
1. To be enrolled in an English Honors class for the next school year, students must earn an A average for the year in an English Regular class or an A or B average for the current year in an English Honors class.
2. Students must have the appropriate recommendation from the members of the English Department. At the discretion of the English Department, recommendations may take priority over the required grade, and an additional example of student work may be required if the student’s placement is in question.
3. Students must meet or exceed on approved standardized test.
4. Students not meeting these prerequisites will not be eligible for enrollment in an English Honors class.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT CLASSES: For students to be enrolled in an Advanced Placement English class, they must show that they are academically prepared for the challenge and rigor of this type of class. In order to assess placement, students will take a pre-test the fall of the year prior to eligibility.
Advanced Placement Language and Composition is the junior-level class.
Advanced Placement Literature and Composition is the senior-level class.
Students may not take an AP class concurrently with any other English class - with the exception of Speech, Drama, or Journalism.
Note:
Depending on student performance, class placement for the next school year may change from the time of initial scheduling to the student’s final placement.