High School Student Handbook

Overview
Bridge Charter Academy High School prepares students for college and careers through individualized, rigorous, and adaptive learning. High School Learning Coordinators partner with families to facilitate an educational plan that earns an accredited High School Diploma. BCA high school students complete coursework at home and attend a three-hour cohort once a week for instructional and community support. Families select either a  predetermined curriculum or self-designed curriculum to satisfy the required academic credits to graduate. Coursework for each subject is approved by a licensed Subject Area Specialist.
Bridge Charter Academy does not discriminate on any basis protected by law, including but not limited to, an individual’s perceived or actual race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, marital status, age, mental or physical disability, or perceived disability, pregnancy, familial status, economic status, veterans’ status, or because of the perceived or actual race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, marital status, age, mental or physical disability or perceived disability, pregnancy, familial status, economic status, or veterans’ status of any other persons with whom the individual associates.
Program Requirements
Cohort Attendance
Daily Edmodo Check-ins
Adequate Progress in Planned Course of Study
1:1 Student-LC meetings every other week
Quarterly Parent-LC Conferences (parent attendance is required)
Read the Weekly Email
Local Performance Assessments and Essential Skills
Bridge Charter Academy Weekly Email
Bridge Charter Academy sends out a weekly email to all families every Monday. This email includes important school-wide information and grade-level announcements. The High School section is located near the bottom of the email. Parents and students are required to read the weekly email each Monday.
Students Unsupervised On-Campus
HS students are permitted on campus between and after classes as long as they are respectful of BCA property and mindful of other classes taking place. Students should:
Should be respectful and safe while on campus (not running in the parking lot, through hallways, etc.)
Should be courteous to the students who may be in their classes and be mindful of noise while on campus
BCA teachers and administration may revoke these privileges at any time if a student is not being safe and following these guidelines.
High School Course Work
Planned Course of Study
The Planned Course of Study is the educational plan that is set at the beginning of the year between the student and the Learning Coordinator. This is an outline of the courses the student will take, the curriculum they will use, and the credit they will attempt. Any changes to the PCS must be approved by the Learning Coordinator.
Subject Area Specialists
A Subject Area Specialist (SAS) is a licensed teacher that reviews student work, give feedback and assign grades. They hold expertise in the subject area and some High School Learning Coordinators are also specific subject area specialists.
Curriculum
Students can take courses to earn credit in a variety of ways. We’ve broken it into three types of programs:
ALL CURRICULUM FORMATS ARE SUBJECT TO SUBJECT AREA SPECIALIST APPROVAL.
Guided Programs
Guided programs are classes that are led by professional instructors or educators. They are graded by the expert and turned into BCA by the instructor or program. Some examples of guided programs are:
1.Acellus (an online program that has expertly designed classes that are automatically graded by the system).
2.BCA Course Packets (graded by BCA Learning Coordinators for Health, PE, Fine Arts, and Electives)
3.Instructor-led and graded classes (World Language Classes, Math Classes, Bridge Classes, etc.)
Aligned Curriculum
Another popular curriculum option is the BCA-aligned curriculum. Our Subject Area Specialists have reviewed and aligned these curriculum options to the BCA learning objectives. These include popular textbook options like HMH, Glencoe, Pearson, etc. If you would like to have an SAS review a curriculum that is not on the list, please contact your Learning Coordinator.
Student-Directed Learning Experience (SDLE)
The third option at BCA is for a student who is very self-motivated and excited about specific topics within Language Arts or Social Studies. They can request to complete a student-directed learning experience (SDLE). SDLE enables you to choose your own learning resources for a student as long as the essential questions of the course are answered. 4-5 essential questions need to be answered each quarter. Answers to these questions can be demonstrated in whatever format you desire (e.g. project, poster, slideshow).
Course Maps
A Course Map is a document used to outline specific course content to be covered, the work to be submitted, and the grading schedule for the class. A course map is developed for each of the curriculum options. The student will have a course map for every course on their class schedule.
Student Work Submissions in Course Maps
A course map outlines the work a student needs to complete to earn credit for the course and stipulates specific assignments that must be turned in to Edmodo.
Edmodo (Daily Check-ins and Course Submissions)
The Edmodo online platform is used for daily student check-ins (student attendance) and to create a digital portfolio of student work submissions. For HS students it also acts as a teacher’s grade book. Each day, all high school students respond to a prompt posted by a High School Learning Coordinator. Prompts are structured to elicit a relatively brief response from students. A student's response is counted as their attendance for the day and must be completed the day the prompt is posted.
Student Portfolio on Edmodo
High school students are expected to upload/submit the required assignments and assessments to receive their grades for each course. These work submissions constitute a student portfolio for the course, which includes specific coursework/assignments that are outlined in the course map. These assignments are graded by the Subject Area Specialist and are then recorded in the grade book. 
Students using an online guided program (Acellus, Edgenuity, etc.) will be required to submit a screenshot of their current progress at the end of each quarter.
Grading Policy
Bridge Charter Academy’s grading system shall determine the student’s progress toward achieving academic content standards. BCA will assure that a student’s academic grades reflect his/her academic proficiency. [Behavior will be reported separately.]
The grading structure for each class can be found in a student's course map or Bridge Class syllabus. 
Official transcript grades will be issued at the middle and end of the school year, 3 weeks after the end of each semester. Each grade will correspond to the quality of the work done throughout each semester respectively. Credit will be awarded based on student progress through the course at the time of the grading period's end.
Transcript change requests (to request a change to previously issued grade or credit) must be submitted to the Learning Coordinator. Grades on transcripts from a previous school will not be altered. Appeals may be directed to the previous school.
Progress grades will be issued at the end of the first and third quarters. An unofficial progress grade and credit earned will be assigned at this time. In the case of a student transferring before the end of the current semester, the most recent quarter grade and credit will be assigned to the student’s transcript.
Possible Grades
Letter Grade
A, B, C, D, or F
A = 90 - 100%, 4.0 grade points
B = 80 - 89%, 3.0 grade points
C = 70 - 79%, 2.0 grade points
D = 60 - 69%, 1.0 grade points
F = < 60%, 0.0 grade points
Pass/No-pass
P, NP
P = 60 - 100%, “Meets expectations”, not included in GPA calculation, credit earned
NP = < 60%, “Does not meet expectations”, not included in GPA calculation, no credit earned
No Grade
NG
Used when, for reasons beyond the student/parent’s control, a student did not have the opportunity to earn even the smallest incremental amount of credit available for the grading period (e.g. a student enrolls in the school one week before the end of a grading period).
Earning High School Credit
Students are awarded credit through the successful completion of a course, earning at least a D or higher grade. Partial credit throughout the academic year is awarded as follows:
Quarter 1
.25
Quarter 2/Semester 1
.50
Quarter 3
.75
Quarter 4/Semester 2
1.0
Possible Credit
Students will be considered on track when they are meeting their “attempted credit” goals chosen during their schedule set up and documented on the student's PCS.
BCA will not issue credit below .125 (1/8 credit) as evidence by the completion of 13% of a full-year course. If no credit can be recorded, a non-passing grade will be assigned (F/NP).
Academic Plans of Assistance
If a student has not made significant efforts to produce work over a two-week period of time, an Academic Plan of Assistance will be created. This plan calls attention to the courses in which a student is not making adequate progress and specifies a plan to address and correct the problem. Plans will be created in partnership with the student and parents with the collaborative goal of supporting the student. Parents and students are required to participate in the creation of an academic plan of assistance that is initiated by the Learning Coordinator.
Retaking Classes
If a student received a non-passing grade in a class previously, the exact same class can be retaken for credit and an improved grade.
Proficiency Credit
Proficiency credit is earned by a student’s ability to show mastery of the concepts related to the class. Proficiency credit is most frequently earned through a challenge test associated with the subject. 
Scheduling Policy
BCA students should be enrolled in 6 HS-level courses or more each semester. Any exceptions must be approved by the school administrator. (9th-grade students must be enrolled in 6 or more courses due to state requirements. Different scheduling rules apply for Dual Credit Students.)
Schedule Changes
A student/family may request to change classes on their schedule with direct approval from the Learning Coordinator. This means adding or dropping classes from their educational plan. Changes to a student schedule must be discussed with the High School Learning Coordinator. The Learning Coordinator will confirm the following before approving the schedule change:
The change will not interfere with on-time graduation.
The change makes sense for the student, their family, and their current coursework expectations.
The correct Course Maps are created and provided for added classes.
A student must let their LC know about any schedule changes two weeks prior to the end of the quarter for the affected semester. (e.g. For a Semester 1 class, they need to notify the LC two weeks prior to the end of Quarter 1.)
If a student does not let their LC know of a dropped course by this deadline, they will be issued a grade for that course!
Graduation Requirements
The Lowell School District Graduation Requirements Policy can be found here. Lowell School District Graduation Requirements. 
Credit Requirements
Subject Area
Required
Special Consideration
English Language Arts
4 Credits
​
Math
3 Credits
Algebra 1 or higher
Science
3 Credits
2 credits must include labs
Social Studies
3 Credits
1 credit US History, 1 credit World History, .5 credit Economics, .5 credit Government strongly suggested but not required
PE
1 Credit
​
Health
1 Credit
​
Arts, World Language, CTE
3 Credits
Students planning to attend a 4 yr university should plan on taking 2 years of world language
Career Development
1 Credit
2 semesters of Academy Base Camp will meet this requirement
Electives
5 Credits
​
Official Transcripts
Transcripts are available upon request and without cost. Official transcripts are mailed by the BCA registrar in Lowell. There is a 3-5 day turnaround for Official HS transcripts. Please request these through your Learning Coordinator.
High School Annual Events
Career Night
Bridge Night
8th grade Transition Night
New Student Orientation
Game/Movie Nights
Potlucks
High School Graduation Ceremony 
Senior Trip
If you have any further questions regarding High School Policy, please reach out to your Learning Coordinator for more information!
Educational Resources
Growth Team
Last modified 10mo ago
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Contents
Overview
Program Requirements
High School Course Work
Planned Course of Study
Subject Area Specialists
Curriculum
Grading Policy
Earning High School Credit
Scheduling Policy
Graduation Requirements
High School Annual Events