GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS Western Heights High School Schedule A seven (7) period schedule is in effect at Western Heights High School. Under this type of schedule, a student may earn up to 14 credits per year. Juniors and Seniors are encouraged to enroll in concurrent enrollment which allows high school students to earn college credits. As a condition of receiving accreditation from the State Board of Education, all students in grades nine through twelve shall enroll in a minimum of seven periods of rigorous academic and/or rigorous vocational courses each day, which may include arts, vocal and instrumental music, speech classes, and physical education classes. No student shall receive high school credit more than once for completion of the same unit or set of competencies to satisfy curriculum requirements. The minimum requirements for graduation from Western Heights are: SUBJECT REQUIRED CREDITS Fine Arts and Computer Education 2 English 8 Math 6 Science 6 Oklahoma History 1 Government 1 American History 2 World History 2 Economics 1 Geography 1 Physical Education 1 Personal Financial Literacy 1 *Electives 14 Total = 46 credits All students shall be required to receive instruction in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the awareness of the purpose of an automated external defibrillator at least once between ninth grade and high school graduation. A school administrator may waive this requirement for an eligible student who has a disability. A student may also be excused from this requirement if a parent or guardian of the student objects in writing. For students planning to enter college upon graduation, a minimum of 6 additional credits are highly recommended from math, science, social studies, computer science and/or foreign language. Most colleges require at least 3 years of math and science. Oklahoma Statutes state that graduating seniors must have earned: four language arts units, three mathematics units, three science units, three social studies units, and two arts and computer education units. In addition, Oklahoma Statutes require students to take additional higher level math and science courses. Students must take Algebra I and two additional math courses that are at least as Page 1 of 5
rigorous. All mathematics courses offered at Western Heights High School will satisfy this requirement with the exception of Pre-Algebra. Students must take Biology I and four additional semesters of equivalent or more difficult science courses. All science courses offered at Western Heights High School will satisfy this requirement. Western Heights will count no more than two correspondence courses (not to exceed 4 credits) towards graduation. Such courses must be offered by a supplemental education organization that is accredited by a national accrediting body that has been taught by a qualified teacher according to state Oklahoma Academic Standards, upon approval by the State Board of Education and the Western Heights Board of Education. For purposes of enrollment, the following grade specific classes are in effect: Freshman year English I, Oklahoma History/Geography, Algebra I, and Biology I Sophomore year English II, World History, Physical Science, and Geometry Junior year English III, American History, Algebra II or Math of Finance, and 2 science credits Senior year English IV and Government/Economics High school students who enroll from other high schools with differing accredited course offerings will have their total course requirements for graduation pro-rated in relation to the weighted standards. Minimum state requirements for high school graduation will be observed in all cases. In conformance with the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children and pursuant to State law, district administrative officials shall waive specific courses required for graduation if similar coursework has been satisfactorily completed in another district, or shall provide reasonable justification for denial. Should a waiver not be granted to a student who would qualify to graduate from the sending school, the district shall provide an alternative means of acquiring required coursework so that graduation may occur on time. Should a military student transferring at the beginning or during his/her senior year be ineligible to graduate from the receiving district after all alternatives have been considered, the sending and receiving districts shall ensure the receipt of a diploma from the sending district if the student meets the graduation requirements of the sending district. A student enrolling late, after the 10 th day of the grading term, agrees to: 1) be held responsible for all work/material assigned (this may be make-up work or demonstrated proficiency), and 2) understand that he/she would be ineligible to participate in extra-curricular activities until satisfying #1. It is recognized that with certain individuals, a need for deviation from the 4-year high school career is possible. Need could be characterized as any situation causing legitimate hardship to the family or student, documented financial need indicating the student must become a primary wage earner for family support, advanced age of a student, etc. If a student feels he/she has a true, legitimate need to deviate from the recommended 4-year plan, steps to follow are: 1) meet with his/her counselor to determine legitimacy 2) counselor would verify need with parent/guardian 3) counselor would recommend meeting to be called by principal 4) principal would hold meeting with student, parent/guardian, counselor, and at least 2 faculty members familiar with the student 5) if it is the recommendation of the committee listed in (4), enrollment for early graduation would be done by counselor 6) if the committee does not recommend the request for early graduation, the student and parent/guardian have the right to appeal to the Page 2 of 5
Superintendent. Students who have individualized education programs (IEPs) pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and who satisfy the graduation requirements through the IEP shall be awarded a Standard Diploma. In addition to a Standard Diploma, students may earn a Distinguished Diploma, a Distinguished Diploma with Honors, or a Distinguished Diploma with Honors and Fine Arts Endorsement. Criteria for these diplomas are: 1. Standard Diploma -- meet requirements as previously stated 2. Distinguished Diploma -- meet the following criteria (which exceeds Oklahoma s Promise criteria), plus a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 and no grades of F or NC on the final high school transcript during the Junior or Senior years. 8 Credits Language Arts 14 Credits Math/Science (a combination of math and science credits, Algebra I/Biology I or above, excluding Contextual Geometry and Math of Finance) 4 Credits same Foreign Language or 4 credits of approved Computer Science 1 Credit Oklahoma History 1 Credit Geography 2 Credits U.S. History 2 Credits World History 1 Credit Economics 1 Credit Government 2 Credits Fine Arts 1 Physical Education 1 Personal Financial Literacy Electives to add up to required credits needed for graduation 3. Distinguished Diploma with Fine Arts Endorsement Meet the requirements stated with the distinguished diploma plus include the following: a. Senior class of 2018 would need 6 credits in Fine Arts b. Senior class of 2019 would need 8 credits in Fine Arts c. Senior class of 2020 would need 10 credits in Fine Arts d. All future classes would need 10 credits in Fine Arts to earn the endorsement e. ANY Western Heights student can earn this endorsement if they meet the credit requirements f. Students that move in from another district during their high school career and have an interest in the Fine Arts endorsement, would have to be evaluated on a case by case basis 4. Distinguished Diploma with Honors - meet requirements as previously stated with at least six of the courses designated as having advanced content material over his/her 4 year career. In addition, the following requirements must be met: no grades of F or NC on the final high school transcript and a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average. Page 3 of 5
Students must acquire additional electives to complete the total number of credits for graduation. May also achieve Distinguished Diploma with Honors and Fine Arts Endorsement if all qualifications are met. For the purpose of this section, applicable vocational-technical classes offered by comprehensive high school vocational-technical programs (career tech) that meet all requirements for course content and teacher qualifications as adopted by the State Board of Education and approved by the Western Heights Board of Education (WHBOE) shall qualify for high school credit. Courses currently approved by the WHBOE for this purpose are Algebra II and Human Anatomy/Physiology. Advanced Placement classes in the core subjects may be substituted on a course-by-course basis to satisfy the academic units required for a Distinguished Diploma or Distinguished Diploma with Honors. In order to recognize and pay tribute to veterans who left high school prior to graduation to serve in World War II, the Korean War, or the Vietnam War, a board of education of any independent school district in this state is hereby authorized to grant a diploma of graduation to any veteran who meets the requirements as listed below. School districts are further encouraged to present such diplomas in conjunction with appropriate Veterans Day programs. To be eligible for a high school diploma pursuant to this section, a veteran shall: 1. have been honorably discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States of America; 2. have served a minimum of eighteen (18) consecutive months active duty or have been discharged with a service-connected disability between certain specified dates; and 3. be a resident of the State of Oklahoma. College preparatory curricular requirements for high school graduation are as follows: 1) Four units of English to include Grammar, Composition, Literature, or any English course approved for college admission requirements; 2) Three units of mathematics, limited to Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, Trigonometry, Math Analysis, Calculus, Advanced Placement Statistics, or any mathematics course with content and/or rigor above Algebra I and approved for college admission requirements; 3) Three units of laboratory science, limited to Biology, Chemistry, Physics, or any laboratory science course with content and/or rigor equal to or above Biology and approved for college admission requirements; 4) Three units of history and citizenship skills, including one unit of American History, one-half unit of Oklahoma History, one-half unit of United States Government and one unit from the subjects of History, Government, Geography, Economics, Civics, or Non-Western Culture and approved for college admission requirements; 5) Two units of the same foreign or non-english language or two units of computer technology approved for college admission requirements, whether taught at a high school or a technology center school, including computer programming, hardware, and business computer applications such as word processing, database, spreadsheets, and graphics, excluding keyboarding or typing courses; 6) One additional unit selected from paragraphs 1 through 5 of this subsection or career and technology education courses approved for college admission requirements; and 7) One unit or set of competencies of fine arts, such as music, art, or drama, or one unit of speech. State law mandates that students must complete three units of mathematics during 9th-12th grades. Parents/students are strongly advised that students should enroll in Algebra I in 8th grade Page 4 of 5
ONLY if they are committed to completing an additional three units of mathematics beyond Algebra at the high school level. Course credit may be earned through Proficiency Based Promotion in many pre-designated subject areas as previously noted, or credit may be obtained through an exemption for demonstrating mastery on the following exams: ACT, SAT. PSAT/NMSQT, ACT Workkeys, AP, and IB exams. Please see your counselor for the cut scores required for demonstrating mastery. All course credit earned through examination by students in required curriculum areas shall be appropriately noted on the student s transcript and/or student record and shall be transferrable to or from any other school district within the State of Oklahoma in which the student was enrolled, is currently enrolled, or may be enrolled. Students who start the ninth grade prior to the 2016-2017 school year will be required to complete an assessment in order to graduate with a standard diploma. The assessment required will be one that is required or has been required by the Oklahoma School Testing program or an alternate assessment as approved by the superintendent. The highest-achieved score on the assessment and any business and industry-recognized endorsements attained will be reflected on the student s transcript. Revised: 01-07-92 Revised: 12-05-94 Revised: 10-09-95 Revised: 03-11-96 Revised: 07-08-96 Revised: 05-11-98 Revised: 07-10-00 Revised: 07-28-04 Revised: 07-11-05 Revised: 08-08-05 Revised: 08-14-06 Revised: 07-19-07 Revised: 08-11-08 Revised: 09-14-09 Revised: 06-14-10 Revised: 07-11-11 Revised: 03-09-15 Revised: 08-08-16 Revised: 07-10-17 Page 5 of 5