Graduation Requirements
GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
All students are currently required to complete all A-G required and recommended courses. As outlined in the Action Plan, BSSCA is considering an alternate diploma and alternate graduation requirements for students for whom the A-G college prep track is not desired.
• A-G course requirements passed with grades of C+ or better
• College Practice Program (at least twenty units completed for Class of 2010)
• Annual reading goals of 12 books per year/approximately 48 by end of 12th grade.
• Passing scores on CAHSEE English and Math sections (Our school has a 98% passage rate for first time takers.)
• Four semesters of extracurricular involvement
• Fifty total hours of community service to two different organizations
• Three physical challenges completed (see Extra Curricular Section below)
• Ten colleges visited
• Six National Park/Historical Sites visited
• English Language Usage and Writing proficiency test passed each year. (Students who cannot prove proficiency in English Language and writing on must take an English Language Arts course each semester until they pass.)
• Music Proficiency (ability to read a piece of music and play it on an instrument)
IWOC
Different students work at different speeds. Because of that, the following “hours estimates” are merely a prediction of how long the work should take a typical student each night. However, Bright Star Schools does have a policy that every single student should have something to do every single night. All Bright Star students will consistently have ninety minutes nightly as follows:
• Thirty minutes of reading each day (seven days per week)
• Thirty minutes of grammar/spelling practice each school day (five days per week)
• Thirty minutes of math practice each school day (five days per week)
This leads to a total of 8.5 hours per week as a baseline.
On top of this baseline for reading, writing, and math, students will be assigned (a) traditional IWOC, (b) project-based work, or (c) study time in English language arts, math, science, social studies, Spanish, or electives based on the following time guidelines. Grade Level Teams of teachers will work together to determine whose IWOC should fill the suggested timeframe for each week or month.
• Ninth grade: 5.5 hrs. per week for a grand total of 14 hours per week
• Tenth grade: 6.5 hrs. per week for a grand total of 15 hours per week
• Eleventh grade: 7.5 hrs. per week for a grand total of 16 hours per week
• Twelfth grade: 8.5 hrs. per week for a grand total of 17 hours per week