Academics

Attendance & Grading

Attendance Procedures

Attendance is crucial to every student’s success at ALH. We expect students, when healthy, to be at school every day for the entire school day.

If your student is sick, please keep them home. We strongly recommend that you contact your medical care provider when your student is sick.

Absences

In the case of an absence:

  1. Parents/guardians must call the school before 7:50 am to inform the school that their child will not be attending school. If you are unable to speak to someone at the front desk, please leave a message stating the student’s name, the reason for missing school, a phone number where you can be reached and a convenient time to call you.
  2. Students who are absent or tardy due to medical appointments or illness must bring in a doctor’s note immediately following the absence/ tardiness to ensure the absence is classified as excused. This note should include the following:
    • Doctor’s letterhead
    • Student’s name
    • Date of the tardy/absence
    • Reason for the tardy/absence
  1. Absent students should make every attempt to get their assignments for the day they miss by having someone contact the school to pick up assignments or by calling fellow students that evening. Due to our integration of Google Classrooms, many students may be able to obtain missed work via their Google accounts.
  2. Upon their return, students should be prepared to hand in any homework or assignment(s) previously assigned or to take any quiz or test previously announced.
  3. If students have an unexcused absence on the day of a school function or event, they cannot participate in that event or in any extracurricular activity that day. Please refer to the athletic handbook for additional information around attendance in reference to sporting events.

Excused Absences

Excused absences include:

  • Medical Absence
    • To be considered for an excused medical absence, the student must bring a written note from a doctor on letterhead, with student’s name, excused dates and reason for absence.
  • Non-Medical Excused Absence:
    • To be considered for an excused non-medical absence, a parent/guardian must provide a signed written note stating the reason for the absence. The Principal/ principal’s designee with sole discretion, may request additional information to verify the reason for the absence. Missing too many classes jeopardizes a student’s chance of promotion. Non-medical excused absences include:
      • A death in the family (parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin)
      • Court appearance
      • Medical or psychological tests with note from test provider
      • Religious holy days as defined by a religious calendar
      • Other extraordinary situations approved by the Principal

Chronic Absenteeism

Students that are absent 2 or more days per month or are present less than 90% of the year are considered chronically absent. Students that are chronically absent are less likely to graduate high school. We understand that absences do occur, however we expect parents/guardians will notify the school each time their student is absent. Administrative interventions may be taken to address students that are chronically absent. These interventions may include, meetings with the parent and student, home visits, or referrals to county services.

Early Dismissal

We realize that students have doctors’, dentists’ and other appointments. Every effort should be made to schedule these appointments during vacation days or other times when the student is less likely to have school. Missing too many classes may jeopardize a student’s chances of promotion.

Students will be granted early dismissal only when the school has received a signed note from the student’s parent/ guardian. The note must state the reason for the early dismissal and a phone number where the parent/guardian can be contacted. The Main Office may call the parent/guardian to verify every note. Exceptions for phone call permission in emergency situations will be granted when the parent/guardian provides the password that they submitted with the early dismissal form.

A student who would like to leave because she is not feeling well cannot obtain permission from any school employee. A student will only be dismissed if parent/guardian (or a designee as documented on the student’s Blue Card) signs out the student.

If students are chronically dismissed early without legal excuses, administrative interventions may be taken to ensure that the parents/guardians understand the significant negative impact such absences can have on academic performance. These interventions may include, meetings with the parent and student, home visits, or referrals to county services.

Skipping Classes

Skipping class is an egregious offense at ALH. If a student skips a class OR is intentionally late in order to miss the class, her family will be contacted, and the student will be administered progressive disciplinary action by the Principal/ principal’s designee. If a student exhibits a pattern of habitually skipping class or intentionally missing class via tardiness, a student will be administered more intense disciplinary action by the Principal/principal’s designee.

Tardiness

Students arriving after 7:50 am are LATE but will be allowed entry into their first period class. Students who arrive to school after the late bell will be charged with an unexcused tardy unless they have medical note or note that falls under “non-medical excused absences.” Please note that any students who are chronically late to school, or any classes, will be administered progressive disciplinary action by the Principal/ principal’s- designee.

Absent / Tardy Verification

ALH will make daily absent calls and tardy calls via our One Call System to parents/guardians of students that are absent or arrive to school late. These calls are typically made to parents/guardians that do not inform the school of a student’s absence or lateness. If you receive a call and you believe your student is present in school or was on time to school, please call ALH at 518-694-5300.

*Please refer to the 2019-2020-Student Code of Conduct and Parent Handbook for more information about attendance procedures

Standards-Based Grading

ALH has adopted a research driven, Standards Based Grading system, which is based on determining standards-aligned content knowledge and skillsets and measuring student proficiency therein.

Standards-Based Grading provides students with a score by standard for each assessment. Students will receive their overall course grades via eight Periods of Progress, or POPs, every five weeks. A final year long (Y1) grade will be calculated at the 8th POP.

Throughout the year, teachers will provide support to students based on targeted course standards through intervention periods, spiral review, and flex time (after school). Advanced students will be provided opportunities to enhance course grades by tutoring peers in structured learning environments and/or completing extension activities.

STANDARDS ARE:

  • Aligned to each course
  • Research & evidence based
  • Clear, understandable, & consistent
  • Aligned with college & career expectations
  • Based on rigorous content & the application of knowledge through higher-order thinking skills
  • Built upon the strengths and lessons of current state standards
  • Informed by top-performing countries to prepare all students for success in our global economy and society

Grading Guidelines

Period of Progress
(POP)

  • POP’s reflect cumulative standards covered throughout the year to date.
  • The grade at the end of the POP indicates the proficiency level that a student has demonstrated on the standards assessed.

Score vs. Grade

  • Score: Number score (1-5) assigned to each standard on a given assessment based on demonstrated level of proficiency.

  • Grade: Converted scores on all cumulative standards assessed throughout the year to date.

Levels of Performance

  • In the standards-based grading system, a standard score, and subsequent POP grade, represents the proficiency level based on student demonstration of understanding of the knowledge, skills, and concepts in the subject area, as well as the student’s ability to apply that understanding to a variety of performance tasks.

5 – Mastery 4 – Proficient 3 – Partially Proficient 2 – Below 1 – Far below

Amelioration

  • Students will track their own progress on each standard assessed for their courses; thus, students will know which standards they have mastered and which standards they need to improve knowledge and understanding of. Teachers will provide amelioration opportunities during class and flex time; scores will be updated accordingly.

Body of Evidence

  • POP grades are based on a preponderance of evidence, typically 3-5 pieces of standards-aligned assessments, during the POP or cumulatively throughout the year.

  • If there is not sufficient evidence for making a decision about a standard score, the student will receive an “INC” as a placeholder. For example, a student has not submitted any assessments, or a student enrolled late in the POP.

Current Learning Trend

  • Averaging by standard is the default grade in the system; however, teachers will use the student’s more recent, most consistent level of performance to determine a student’s POP grade. Teacher comments will support grades.

Interval Assessments

  • Interval Assessments are cumulative and occur three times a year. These assessments are also scored by standard.

  • Students will track interval standard proficiency and receive a “Regents Comparison Score” so students can track minimum standard obtainment

Grading Scale

GRADES EARNEDGPA VALUE
(UNWEIGHTED)
ACHIEVEMENT LEVEL
89-954.0MASTERY
86-883.7MASTERY
83-853.3PROFICIENT
79-823.0PROFICIENT
76-782.7PROFICIENT
73-752.3PARTIALLY PROFICIENT
70-722.0PARTIALLY PROFICIENT
69 and Below0BELOW/ FAR BELOW

*If your daughter receives a final grade of less than 70%, no credit unit will be granted for that course.  If she fails any “core classes” (those required for graduation), she will be REQUIRED to attend summer school (so long as she fulfills the ALH Summer School eligibility requirements); otherwise, she will likely have to repeat the course in the next year.

RECEIVING CREDITS FOR A COURSE

Credit units are granted once a student successfully completes that course with a “70” or higher. Partial credit units are not granted to a student who leaves ALH midyear or who transfers to another class midyear; however, s student who transfers to another class or who leaves the charter school has already completed a course, or has completed enough work to obtain a passing grade via the standards-based grading system and meets the ALH attendance policy, then a student may be awarded credit.

COURSES WITH WEIGHTED CREDIT

A student who chooses to take an Honors or Advanced Placement (AP) level course will be weighted in recognition of the extra effort needed to meet their requirements. Consequently, Honors courses will receive an additional 0.2 GPA points, and AP and college courses will receive an additional 0.5 GPA points.

STUDENTS WHO TRANSFER FROM OTHER INSTITUTIONS

Students transferring to Albany Leadership Charter High School for Girls may be able to carry their former institution’s credits over. Students who transfer to ALH mid-year will have their exit grades considered for course placement.

STUDENTS WHO TRANSFER TO OTHER INSTITUTIONS

Albany Leadership Charter High School for Girls does not give credits for incomplete courses to students who transfer at any time during the year. We will forward an exit grade summary via the most recent Period of Progress for that school year once the formal withdrawal form has been submitted to the Director of Advancement.

GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA)

GPA is calculated using the 4-point scale and is calculated based on credit-bearing classes, factoring in any appropriate weighting. Pass/Fail classes will not be calculated into the GPA.

PASS/FAIL CLASSES

For “pass” or “fail” classes, students must demonstrate a minimum proficiency in the course’s standards in order to pass for the year. However, teacher and administrative discretion can be used to grant credit based on extenuating circumstances and the submission of additional work and/or exceptional performance on cumulative assessments/ NYS Regents examinations.

HONOR ROLL/ HIGH HONOR ROLL

Students who receive a 3.3 through 3.69 GPA in any Period of Progress (POP) will receive Honor Roll recognition. Students who receive a 3.7 and above GPA in any POP will receive High Honor Roll recognition.

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