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Board approves clarified high school academic awards criteria for 2025–26
Summary
After correcting earlier inaccurate statements, the board approved revised academic recognition criteria that average first- and second-semester GPAs for award eligibility; new tiers and enrollment requirements were specified for the 2025–26 implementation year.
The Catalina Foothills Unified School District Governing Board approved changes to the high school academic recognition process for the 2025–26 school year after staff corrected earlier inaccuracies about which semesters count toward awards.
Phil Castro (presenter listed in the packet as Castro) explained the clarification to the board: the district’s prior material had correctly stated that eligibility for the current year counted a student’s weighted 4.0-grade-point average for the first three quarters, but Castro acknowledged he had misstated which semesters cross school years in an earlier presentation. For the 2025–26 academic letter program, the board approved the proposed scale and an eligibility calculation method that averages the student’s first- and second-semester GPAs in the same academic year.
Under the approved structure, the district will offer a silver award for students with a weighted GPA of 4.0 or above and a blue award for GPAs from 3.75 to 3.99, as described in the packet. Students in grades 9–11 must be enrolled in six classes to be eligible; seniors will continue to be recognized in May at a separate ceremony. Staff told the board eligible students will be notified in summer and invited to a recognition event at the start of the school year.
Board members thanked Castro for returning to correct the record; after a motion and a second the governing board approved the clarified program for implementation in the 2025–26 school year by unanimous vote.
The district will publish the corrected eligibility language in the course guide and in communications to families to avoid future confusion about which semesters are counted.
