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Board reviews handbook updates: phone ban, attendance changes and proposed weighted grades
Summary
Trustees reviewed first readings of multiple building-level handbooks that implement a classroom cell-phone ban, align attendance classification to state GPS metrics, and propose weighted grades for junior-year college-level courses; officials said they will intensify parent communication before August.
At the June 13 meeting, trustees reviewed a package of building-level handbook changes that include a new electronic-device rule, a tightened attendance classification to match state reporting and a proposal to move to weighted grades for certain college-level classes.
"Students are to leave their cell phones in the lockers," Mrs. Skinner said, explaining the electronic-device revision and one lunchtime exception. She told the board the change responds to recent state legislation and to an increase in classroom disruptions.
District student-services staff and principals flagged attendance as another major shift. "We have seen a significant decline in attendance rates that are being reported to the state," Mrs. Skinner said; Ms. Foster added administrators plan a broad communications campaign (Spotlight, registration materials and handouts) so parents understand new truancy and certified-attendance rules before the August start.
On grading, the school improvement team proposed a move to weighted grades for college-level or dual-credit courses to encourage rigor and improve college competitiveness. Mrs. Skinner said the recommendation would apply by cohort — starting with incoming juniors — to avoid mixing students with different GPA treatments. "Our school improvement team is proposing that we move to a graded based system," she said, and staff will continue stakeholder outreach.
Miss Crabtree described schedule and athletics changes in middle-school handbooks: the district will move to four lunches (each grade level gets a 30-minute lunch) and tightened athletic eligibility that requires athletes to meet at least a 1.67 grade point average and be passing three of four core classes.
All handbook items were presented as first readings. Board members urged strong parent and staff education about the changes and asked administrators to return in July with any clarifications prior to adoption.
Because these are first readings, no formal board adoption occurred; the board expects to act in July so changes can be distributed before the new school year.
