Academic Policies & Information

Refer to Board of Education Policy 6-280. After conferring with their counselor and with the permission of their parent or guardian, students may elect to audit a course for the purpose of enrichment. These courses are listed on their transcript as an audit (AU), but receive no credit, are not included in GPA calculations, and cannot be used as prerequisite courses. Attendance is taken and reported for students in audited courses. An audit agreement is made between the student and teacher once the semester has begun but not later than the end of the third week of the semester. In order for the audit to appear on the permanent record, the student must notify his/her counselor and teacher at the time the agreement is made. The teachers verify audits at the end of each semester.

• Teachers and Department Chairs must approve a request to audit.
• Teachers are not required or expected to evaluate student work or progress for auditing students.
• Although the student is not considered part of the class load, the student is expected to conform to all regular attendance and classroom management procedures and policies.
• The course will be entered on the student schedule, but schedule changes will not be made to accommodate audits.
• If, at the discretion of the teacher and the student’s counselor, the audit arrangement is no longer beneficial, the student in question will be moved to a study hall in lieu of the audited class.

Students who have time in their schedule and who are interested in a particular course but do not want to engage in the work to earn credit are encouraged to audit classes.

Automatic Accelerated Placement (AAP) is an ISBE phrase describing changes by Public Act 101- 0654 that requires districts to use standardized testing data to automatically enroll students into the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework. 

In addition to the AAP course placement recommendation, teachers may also make recommendations based on their professional opinion, which includes the AAP recommendations but also might include other factors such as grades, attendance, and coursework. Teachers will discuss their recommendations with students prior to course registration.

Students and families will review AAP course placement and teacher recommendations via Infinite Campus. Questions about recommendations should be directed to the current teacher or applicable department chair.

Standards for computer literacy will be adopted by the board as part of policy 6-300, Graduation Requirements. Computer literacy will be addressed via a series of courses as determined by the Directors of Instructional Technology and coordinated by the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. Since District 113 provides one-to-one computer options for all students, the “developmentally appropriate opportunities to gain computer literacy skills” are addressed in all classes. 

If a student finds themselves struggling in a course, there are several proactive steps they can take to improve academically:

• Review and Practice: Regular review of class material and consistent practice can reinforce learning. Students can create a study schedule, use additional study materials, and attempt practice problems or quizzes to strengthen their understanding.
• Collaborate with Peers: Studying with classmates can be beneficial. Explaining concepts to others can solidify understanding, and peers might offer insights or explanations that resonate better than those from the teacher.
• Seek Extra Help in the ARC or TLC: Students are encouraged to use the Academic Resource Center (ARC) at DHS, or The Learning Center (TLC) at HPHS, where they can receive individualized or small-group tutoring in a particular subject area. Dedicated tutors can offer personalized guidance and strategies to improve academic performance.
• Talk to the Teacher: Communicate with the teacher in-person or via email to set up a time to further discuss academic progress. The teacher can offer guidance, clarify concepts, and provide extra help or resources.
• Talk to School Counselor: School counselors can offer guidance on adjusting study habits, exploring different learning strategies, and supporting overall well-being.

If a student continues to struggle academically despite taking these proactive steps, it is imperative that the student meet with their teacher again to establish a time bound academic intervention plan. The plan will identify the areas in which the student is working to improve, detailed interventions in the classroom, and additional support outside the classroom. If eligible, the student may also be invited to participate in an
academic intervention class with a dedicated subject-area intervention teacher (referred to as an MTSS Tier 2 interventionist). Students are required to take advantage of this level of support as a part of their intervention Plan.

Throughout this intervention plan, regular communication between the student, teacher, and any additional support personnel (ie. case manager, MTSS Tier 2 interventionist) is vital to monitor progress, reassess strategies, and make necessary adjustments to ensure the student's improvement in the subject. A typical intervention plan will last 6-8 weeks before more intensive interventions are established.

After schedules are finalized, students must meet eligibility criteria in order to request a level change. These criteria are as follows:

• Students will not be eligible to apply for a course level change unless all assignments are currently submitted to their teacher. There cannot be any missing work from the student.
• The student must have a grade of “D” or lower in their current course, with no fewer than four grades or data points being entered for the first half of the semester. These grades/data points must be considered “significant”; that determination will be made by the department chair. At least one of these grades/data points must be an assessment or quiz grade.

For more information, please see the District 113 Course Level Change Procedure.

Guidance pertaining to course withdrawals can be found in the course withdrawal section.

Students enroll in courses based on prior achievement, prerequisites, teacher recommendations, and standardized test scores. All courses teach the expected content as designated by the Illinois State Board of Education as detailed in the Illinois Learning Standards.

Survey and Standard (College Preparatory): Courses that provide instruction to enhance skills in reading, writing, research, critical comprehension, thinking, and reasoning.

Advanced and Honors (College Preparatory): Courses that demand high levels of cognitive and problem-solving processes. The instructional pace is rigorous and emphasizes curricular depth, breadth, and enrichment.

Advancement Placement and Dual Credit: Accelerated courses that offer students the opportunity to earn college credit in high school. These courses will be aligned to College Board or university standards and may require a significant amount of independent work.

Seniors with a 3.8 grade point average on the unweighted scale, or 4.4 on the weighted scale, will be named DHS scholars. The first number after the decimal must be 8 or 4: we will not round up in order to determine DHS scholar eligibility.

Students who have satisfactorily completed all graduation requirements and have earned at least 41 credits at the end of the first semester may withdraw in January and receive their diploma. They also have the option of participating in the May graduation ceremony and other senior events.

An earned honors course is a standard level course that offers all enrolled students the option to perform additional work and demonstrate additional learning to earn an honors designation (and accompanying grade point boost) at the end of the semester.

Parents/guardians may elect for their currently enrolled student to take courses outside of Deerfield High School or Highland Park High School to appear on their high school transcript. The following rules and procedures describe how external credit works:

• For students who are transferring into District 113, please see Policy 7-50: School Admission and Student Transfer To and From Non-District Schools.
• For district-directed external credit situations, please see the section on outsourced classes, below.

1. Unless otherwise noted, families are responsible for all fees, tuition, supplies, or any expenses related to external credit courses.
2. The district will determine which courses will count towards the student’s grade point average and eligibility for athletic and extracurricular experiences. Only standard (and not honors) credit will be given for external credit courses that match District 113 offerings, and per Board Policy 6-310, standard (“regular”) credit shall be granted for summer school courses.
3. The relevant department chairs will review external course curriculum and learning goals to best dovetail such learning experiences with existing District 113 learning standards and student expectations. A student may be asked to take a District 113 final exam before credit is granted for the comparable experience.
4. During the academic year, external or online course options are limited to elective courses only. In other words, courses required for graduation or used to meet graduation requirements are not eligible. Generally, these courses will be taken on the student’s own time, and not during a portion of their District 113 schedule.
5. District 113 only accepts external credit from accredited providers.
6. External credit courses may be taken during summer school as long as they provide a comparable experience to the District 113 course as determined by the Assistant Principal for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. A maximum of two credits (e.g. one full-year course) may be taken in any one content area per summer. Summer courses may be taken at any time during a student’s high school career.
7. Two credits (e.g. one full-year course) of graduation requirement credit may be fulfilled in summer school over the course of a student’s high school experience. This does not apply to credit recovery or grade replacement experiences.
8. The external credit request form must be completed and approval obtained prior to the student enrolling in each course. Credit will not be awarded for courses that were not approved in advance of the experience.
9. Courses receiving external credit will be indicated as transfer credit on the student's transcript, with the grade that was issued by the external school on the student’s transcript and with the grade that was received by District 113.
10. Parents/guardians are responsible for ensuring that the student's counselor receives a copy of a transcript for external credit after completion of the course. A District 113 transcript is a legal document. Therefore, once a course is added to a transcript, it cannot be deleted.
11. The following experiences do not count against the 2-graduation credit limit as described in G, above.

• Traffic safety experiences taken during the summer are permitted to fulfill the District 113 traffic safety graduation requirement. Decisions about appropriate course content should be made by the summer school principal in consultation with a Physical Education, Health, and Traffic Safety department chair.
• Courses taken during the summer are permitted to fulfill the consumer education graduation requirement. Decisions about appropriate course content should be made by the summer school principal in consultation with a Fine Arts and Career and Technical Education department chair.

Courses earned via external credit appear on a student’s transcript in a subsection from the issuing institution. Generally, students who enroll and complete college courses for external credit will receive 1 credit on their District 113 record for each college course completed. Given that different colleges have different standards for issuing credit, the Registrar and Assistant Principal may decide otherwise in certain situations, including the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment as appropriate.
 

At the end of each semester, final examination days are scheduled to provide time for written or oral examinations or their equivalent; e.g., an individual interview or a research project. It is expected that exams will be taken as scheduled. Makeup days for those who are absent will be scheduled for the end of the semester. Semester exams are not to exceed more than 20% of a student’s semester grade. All sections of a given course will have the same assessed percentage. Departments will determine the appropriate percentage for the semester exam.

Senior final exams. Seniors will be eligible for second semester finals waivers if:

1. During their second semester a senior has fewer than five unexcused absences (approximately 7% of the senior second semester attendance days) or fewer than 10 total absences. The 10 total absences would include any combination of unexcused absences and non-school related authorized absences such as college visits, family emergencies, medical appointments, religious holidays, and illnesses. The exemption occurs only in the semester of graduation. (A junior graduating early also follows these procedures.)
2. Graduating seniors with an average of B- or better in a class are excused from taking that exam if they meet the attendance guidelines.

Township High School District 113 utilizes a 4.0 grading scale. The unweighted grade point average (GPA) is computed by dividing the total grade points earned by the total number of credits attempted. Courses in the Physical Education Department are excluded from GPA calculation, except for Health. The weighted GPA is calculated as above, with grades earned in AP and Honors courses receiving one additional grade point from the table above. Both unweighted and weighted GPAs are displayed on the student’s transcript.

Accessing student grades. Students and parents/guardians may access in-progress and final end of semester course grades on Infinite Campus.

A grade of Incomplete can be categorized in two ways: a Retake or an Extension.  See below for the explanations of each option.  In both instances, the decision needs to be approved by the Department Chair. 

Retake
The student needs to retake the entire semester of the course in summer school or a future semester.  The student cannot reasonably meet the standards for passing the class via an Extension.  The student’s very low grade is a result of low engagement with the curriculum and/or low attendance during the semester.  80% attendance during the semester may be used as a benchmark in determining that an Incomplete is categorized as a Retake. 

Extension
It is determined that the student can reasonably meet the standards for passing the class with some additional time, work, and/or targeted support.  The following requirements pertain to Extensions:

1. All first semester Extensions must be completed by the first day of student attendance after spring break.  If not, the status will change to Retake.
2. The teacher will detail the work, assignments, assessments, etc. that the student needs to successfully complete in order to improve a grade of incomplete to a passing grade.  This will be approved by the Department Chair.
3. The teacher will provide the details of how the student will complete this work.  For example, a student could work independently and submit it when finished, meet and work with the teacher once a week to prepare for a missing assessment, or meet and work regularly with another qualified adult in the building who can provide the needed support.  These are just examples, not an exhaustive list.  Teachers are not required to meet/work directly with the student.
4. The student and caregiver will be informed of, and agree to, the plan, deadline, and what happens if the Extension is not successfully completed.
    

Students may propose independent study projects in order to pursue advanced study not offered in the curriculum or study which involves a dimension different from that offered in a regularly scheduled class. Independent study courses may earn up to one credit per semester or two credits for a yearlong course.

Generally, independent study projects are designed for students with particular academic interests and/or talents. While independent study work can be important in a student’s academic trajectory, both DHS and HPHS offer a wealth of course options that in most cases provide a more well-rounded and enriching experience for students.

• Development. Interested students must develop a project proposal in conjunction with a faculty sponsor. Departments may have special prerequisites for Independent Study; applicants are encouraged to meet with the Department Chair prior to developing a proposal. Students should expect that the timeframe for proposing a successful independent study project will take weeks and are encouraged to begin the process the semester before the semester that the project begins.
• Grades/Credit. An Independent Study project may be taken on a pass/fail basis or for a grade. Projects of unusual difficulty may qualify for Honors credit on a pass-fail basis only. However, in the event that a student has exhausted the Honors curriculum but has not exceeded the total number of Honors credits available within the department, they will have the option of pursuing Honors Independent Study and receive a weighted grade. For example, a student who has completed all the honors courses in the mathematics sequence would be eligible to propose an independent study project for Honors credit.
• Forms. Independent study forms are available online on the website of the Counseling Department. Proposals include these elements: rationale for request, objectives of the plan, mechanics of meeting times, the nature of the final product, and evaluation procedures.
• Review, Approval. Independent Study proposals that have been reviewed and approved by the faculty sponsor, department chair, and assistant principal must be submitted to the student's Counselor by the end of the third week of each semester to allow the student time to complete the project in the school year or in the semester, whichever time frame the project requires.

Independent studies will appear on transcripts in the hosting department with the abbreviation “IS” (for “independent study”) followed by the independent study project name.

Students are required to carry a minimum load of five credits including Physical Education each semester they are in school. An academic program should be selected which challenges the student while allowing them to remain healthy.

The intent of pass/fail is to encourage students to experiment and explore by taking courses they would not take otherwise.

1. Students may elect any course offered in the school for a pass/fail grade under this policy except those required for graduation, or those used for meeting a graduation requirement. Traffic safety is always pass/fail.
2. All students must have at least 37 credits in regularly graded courses to fulfill graduation requirements; the minimum caseload for full-time students is 5 credits per semester.
3. A student elects to take a course on a pass/fail basis before the end of the eighth week of the semester. This decision cannot be changed later in the semester. Summer School decisions must be made before the end of the fifth day of summer school.
4. To obtain a “pass” in a course, the student must obtain a grade of “D-” or better in accordance with the standards of that course. If special arrangements regarding the pass/fail course are requested by the student and approved by the teacher, then these special arrangements should be stated in writing. No special arrangements may be made in the area of classroom attendance: pass/fail students must meet the same attendance requirements as regularly graded students.
5. Students must not enroll in a course for which the prerequisite was taken pass/fail. Only the last semester in an intended sequence may be taken pass/fail.
6. Parents/guardians must approve decisions to take courses on a pass/fail basis.

Students who wish to apply for a physical education exemption should request an application from the Physical Education Department Chair. Exemption from the physical education requirement is available to:

1. Junior and senior athletes during their sports season. The athlete must be enrolled in six classes for credit (including PE) in order to be eligible for a Physical Education exemption. The athlete will be enrolled in a supervised study hall. Students must return to PE at the completion of their season.
2. Students in good standing in PE class that have completed the state-mandated fitness testing.
3. Students whose admission to an institution of higher education is dependent on the completion of a given course and who are enrolled in six courses (including physical education). Documentation of the specific need must be provided to the student by the institution of higher learning. If the waiver is approved, the student is enrolled in the needed course in place of physical education.
4. Students whose fulfillment of a graduation requirement is dependent on the completion of a given course and who are enrolled in six courses (including physical education). Documentation must demonstrate that the requirement cannot be fulfilled in any other way. If the waiver is approved, the student is enrolled in the needed course in place of physical education.

Students with a physical education exemption must check in with their PE teacher at the beginning of each PE class for attendance purposes.

Prerequisites have been established for certain courses in each department. These prerequisites restrict entry into these courses because prior completion of certain coursework or the achievement of a designated level of proficiency is considered essential for success. Students interested in enrolling in a course for which they do not meet the prerequisites should contact the appropriate department chair to discuss strategies for acquiring and demonstrating the necessary skills. These strategies may include auditing a course, earning credit in summer school, or taking a proficiency exam. Contact with the department chair should be initiated prior to then completion of the registration process, or as soon as the lack of the prerequisite is determined.

Students may receive placement (but not high school credit) in a sequential course by passing a proficiency examination in place of taking a course that is the prerequisite. Students interested in further information regarding proficiency examinations should contact the department chair and review Board Policy 6-320 High School Credit for Proficiency.

In order to arrange enrollment, the student and their parents/guardians should communicate first with their counselor or designated administrator at their home school to ensure that there is support for this programming. The sender school administrator should then communicate with the Assistant Principal of the receiving high school who creates the master schedule. The Assistant Principal will make a recommendation to the Principal and the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction regarding placement. The final student schedule will be worked out in order to accommodate this academic programming. The credit will be entered on their transcript once they begin their high school career, and the grade(s) will be factored into their grade point average (GPA) the first time high school GPA is calculated.

Grade replacement is allowed where the grade in the course to be repeated is a C+ or below. The replacement course must be taken no later than the next school year. If a student opts to repeat a course and wishes to replace the grade, the student must see their counselor who will submit the form. Courses taken at other schools require the prior approval of the Assistant Principal. The lower of the two grades will be changed to “R” and that grade will have no impact on GPA.

For Residency Help or Questions, email the District 113 Registrar, Ms. Kelly Schaffner, at kschaffner@dist113.org. This information can also be found on the District 113 website.

The Senior Teach Program is a service opportunity for seniors interested in a classroom leadership position. Seniors work collaboratively with a teacher, refine their skills and knowledge in a subject area, and see what it is like to be a teacher and/or tutor. Senior Teachers make either a one semester or one year commitment. This course is offered pass/fail, zero credit only. Offered at DHS only.

PPRA (Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment): We must annually notify parents/guardians that we do not use federal money to administer third-party surveys that contain questions about the eight protected areas unless we obtain written consent from parents/guardians before a student is required to take the survey. This is also outlined in the Student Handbook.

FERPA/ISSRA: Pursuant to the federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Illinois School Student Records Act (ISSRA), the Board of Education of Township High School District 113 adopted Board Policy 7-15 regarding the collection, maintenance, dissemination, destruction, and confidentiality protections of student records and student information. This Policy and its regulations are available upon
request from the Office of the Superintendent, the building Principal or the District’s Official Records Custodian. The Policy is also available on the District’s website at www.dist113.org.

The District is also required to provide you with notification of your rights under FERPA and ISSRA. This notification is available on the District 113 website as an Administrative Procedural attachment to Board of Education Policy 7-15.

After consulting with their teacher and counselor, and with the permission of the parent or guardian, a student grades 9-12 may choose to withdraw from a course, so long as the 5-credit minimum in Policy 7-40 is maintained. When students withdraw from a class, they will be assigned to a study hall for the class period formerly occupied by the withdrawn course. Students receive no credit for withdrawn classes, and withdrawn classes cannot be used as prerequisites for subsequent classes.

We discourage students from withdrawing from courses. In most cases, students who are struggling with their performance in a class will be better served with more time to complete their learning and school work, as described in the learning extension section above.

1. When a student withdraws from a class, the class will not appear on their transcript, except for either of following situations: If at any time the withdrawal places them below the credit minimum described in policy 7-40 (5 credits), the course remains on their transcript as withdrawn (code “W”); or
2. If the withdrawal takes place after week 12 of the semester, the course remains on their transcript with a withdrawn code (“W”).

These withdrawn courses will not contribute to or detract from the student’s grade point average, and cannot be used as a prerequisite for subsequent coursework or designations.

A parent/guardian withdrawing their student from school should contact the school counselor to verify withdrawal plans. As part of the withdrawal process, remaining fees need to be paid. The Chromebook can be returned or kept for a fee. The registrar will send the student’s records, including the transcript, to the student’s new school upon request.