Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Courses May Be Weighted At PHS

Handbook changes highlighted the Prescott School Board meeting Tuesday, May 18, with the focus on changing graduation requirements.

Prescott High School Principal Steve Britton informed the panel the single determining factor for a student to be an honor graduate is their grade point average (GPA) at this time.

This, he said, isn't necessarily fair to all students, especially those who take more challenging courses, such as chemistry and physics.

Students not involved in extracurricular activities, he said, have six of the10 core courses they need in place, and only have to take four others. This means there are more electives these students can take to keep their grades up.

Those students working on the school yearbook, he said, get four credits and need four other core courses, giving them eight electives.

Group three, he concluded, consists of those students involved in everything band, athletics, etc. and have no room for error in their scheduling as their electives are limited.

Britton suggested finding a way to weight the classes so those students who take the more challenging course load will be rewarded though their GPA may not be as high as a student who took an easier route.

Colleges, he said, tend to look at the classes a student takes during high school and the harder courses could be a benefit to those taking them.

Board member Jim Franks said colleges these days are putting more and more emphasis on standardized test scores and less on GPAs as classes differ from district to district.

Britton said the schedule doesn't have to be etched in stone, but should be flexible so the district can work with students.

Flexibility is also needed for students transferring into the district, he said.

He suggested sophomore students coming to Prescott would have to meet the entire graduation policy, with their transcripts being evaluated against the policies.

Advanced placement courses, he continued, could be counted as honors courses for transfer students.

At this time, the Prescott district requires 29 credits for a student to graduate.

Britton also discussed a dress code for PHS, saying sunglasses cannot be worn unless prescribed by an eye doctor.

In talking about the policy for student vehicle use, Britton said students driving to and from school will have to provide copies of their driver's license and proof of insurance before they can bring a vehicle on campus.

The district will make copies of the licenses and insurance, putting them in the student's file.

Suspension from school was heavily debated, with Britton telling the panel a student can only be suspended from PHS for five days because of the school's block scheduling. In middle and primary school, he said, the limit is 10 days.

Franks suggested getting the district's attorney to examine the suspension policy before it's put into effect as the wording of the policy is important.

The out of school suspension, Britton said, has been changed. Now, if a parent chooses to keep their child out of school instead of having them attend in school suspension, the absence will be excused, but the student can't make up any missed homework or tests.

However, he said, there are some instances where a student suspended and sent home can make up their homework and tests. But, he continued, it is up to the student to make arrangements for the homework and tests.

"We want to stress personal responsibility to the students," he said.

Turning to the topic of community involvement, Britton said only seniors can work during school hours at this time, with all others having to work after school.

However, he suggested, some students could tutor others in need in different areas. He said the top students in other classes should be allowed to tutor others during school hours.

In other business, two students were expelled due to the possession of a weapon on campus.

One of the students had brought a knife with brass knuckles to school, though no threat was ever made to any other student or members of the staff.

Another student gained possession of the knife and got caught with it.

Superintendent Ron Wright said he'd like to see these two students get an education as there was no threat of immediate danger to anyone else and the two involved are good students.

The student who brought the knife to school was expelled for a calendar year, while the other was expelled for the remainder of this school year.

Members of the secretarial staff were given 3 percent increases in their salaries, along with two personal days off per year. In addition, secretaries will be given $200 annual increments.

Bus drivers for the district also got a 3 percent raise, with special trip pay being raised from $4 to $6 per hour, with no more eight-hour days for overnight trips.

The pay for substitute drivers was reduced from $28 to $26 per day.

Wright said public opinion for the millage has been positive since the recent public meeting was held.

He told the board if the district plans to seek a millage increase, it must let the state officials know by July 9, so everything can be in place for the September school elections.

The board will meet Tuesday, June 1, at 6 p.m., to discuss this issue.