Amador Valley English Department Policies

Coursework: Coursework is designed to facilitate mastery of California State Content Standards and to develop critical thinking skills. All activities -- from simple review sheets or study questions to full length essays and formal presentations as well as classroom discussions and informal questions and answer sessions -- promote these two primary goals, as well as create cross-curricular connections and encourage self-awareness. The range of activities reflects both the delight and challenge of literature while promoting the development of creative, knowledgeable, exploratory thinkers. For these reasons, students are encouraged to take full advantage of all the classroom opportunities, realizing that not everything that counts can be counted, tallied, and averaged into a GPA.

Essays and Major Assignments: Due dates for essays and major assignments are firm. However, papers will be accepted one day late with a loss of 50% of the earned points. Papers will not be accepted more than one day late. Printer and disk failures are not acceptable excuses for late papers. If a student is absent (even if excused) on the due date, essays and major projects must be sent to school on time, barring emergencies. (If a hard copy cannot be delivered to school, please e-mail it.) Should an emergency arise, please have a parent/guardian e-mail or call that day.

Daily/short-term assignments: These assignments are due at the beginning of class (or the first day back to school after a short-term absence). Should an emergency arise, please have a parent/guardian e-mail or call that day.

All work, long-term or short-term assignments, is to be completed individually unless assigned as group work. Any evidence of plagiarism or cheating will result in zeroes for both students and consequences as per school discipline policy.

Attendance: See school policies. Make-up work for suspensions is subject to teacher policy.

Make-up work: Make-up work is the responsibility of the STUDENT. Work or tests missed due to a short-term excused absence for illness must be completed on the first day back to class. Work missed due to an excused absence for a field trip; vacation, appointment, or school activity is due in advance of the date of absence. In cases of prolonged illness or other extenuating circumstance, arrangements must be made with the teacher to clarify due dates. Work and tests missed due to an unexcused absence may not be made up. The student is responsible for clearing absences through the office. If the student fails to do so, no make-up work will be accepted as per school policy. A student who anticipates being absent on a certain date should consult with the teacher prior to that date to ensure that all work is completed in an acceptable time frame. Note: Makeup work is accepted; late work is not.

Grading: All essays, tests, and assignment have point values that reflect their importance. Points are cumulative for the semester. A percentage grouping for the English department is as follows:

100-90% = A 89-80%=B 79-70% = C 69-60%=D below 60% = F

Class grades are based upon all work done in class and all assignments done out of class. The English Department adheres strictly to the above percentage grouping; points are not rounded up or down. There is no extra credit.

Classroom Participation: Classroom participation is essential to the learning process. As a good classroom participant, please abide by the guidelines of good citizenship.