A laptop with Google Classroom and Campus Portal tabs pulled up is shown above. On April 15, a press release was sent out to the Clarke County School District regarding a new grading policy. “The decision to end new academic assignments on May 1 was to provide support for students that need additional academic support May 4-21,” CCSD Chief Academic Officer Brannon Gaskins said. “Any student that is failing or a student who wants to improve their grade will still have an opportunity to work with their teacher.” Photo by Luna Reichert
The Clarke County School District sent out a press release on April 15 highlighting changes in the grading policy and a school update.
On April 15, the Clarke County School District sent out a press release sharing an update regarding the rest of the school year and the updated grading policy for elementary, middle and high school. This included the announcement that no new assignments will be given to students past May 1.
For CCSD schools, students’ grades cannot go down from what it was in the third quarter.
“Academic performance during remote learning will not negatively impact a student’s final grade,” the press release stated. “Student work completed during remote learning will only be used to increase a student’s final grade.”
This policy update gives students grades nine through 11 the ability to improve their average until May 1. Seniors may continue to improve their average until May 21.
According to CCSD Chief Academic Officer Brannon Gaskins, the reasons behind this update reflect the state’s guidance on grading guidelines.
“The (Georgia Department of Education) released grading guidance that CCSD and neighboring districts adopted to not negatively impact student grades during remote/distance learning,” Gaskins said. “The decision to end new academic assignments on May 1 was to provide support for students that need additional academic support May 4-21.”
For CCHS junior Courtney Smith, these changes are beneficial.
“Personally, I think the decisions made were great for the benefit of all Clarke County students. I’m happy to see that it isn’t possible for students to drop their grades during all this because one person’s home life may be different from another person,” Smith said.
CCHS science department teacher Adam Lee has noticed a decline in participation and happiness among his students during the school closure.
“I’ve chatted with a few kids, and the isolation, family stress and a lack of a schedule have made them really depressed and anxious,” Lee said. “This is probably the most demoralizing part as a teacher. I don’t get a lot of work turned in, and I can never be sure why. A lot of kids were lost at first, but now I’ve started making a three to four-minute video for each assignment (to explain the material better).”
Gaskins says that after May 1, students that have met the requirements of the grading guidance will not be required to turn in any new assignments.
“(Students) can continue to interact with their teachers through class meetings, enrichment activities or school activities (e.g. storytime, virtual workout with P.E. teachers or arts and craft activities with the Art teacher),” Gaskins said. “(Advanced Placement) exams are still scheduled and teachers will continue to support students as needed to prepare for the assessment.”
The press release also mentions that all freshmen, sophomores and juniors have the option to accept their grades as of April 25 if they have a grade of 80 or higher in the class. For seniors, this applies if their grade is a 70 or higher. CCHS senior Jack Krohn is happy with this change and feels that the online work assigned to students during the closure has been hectic.
“Trying to learn from a constant stream of mindless online assignments is almost impossible for people who procrastinate, and while no one wants to admit it, we all procrastinate,” Krohn said. “I doubt many people think they learned more during these online assignments when compared to actual classes, so making the assignments (optional) instead of something mandatory works really well.”
For CCSD parent Kirrena Gallagher, candidate for the CCSD Board of Education District 2 seat, these chances to improve grades are helping her son, a sophomore at Cedar Shoals High School, who has been struggling with online classes.
“He’s at Cedar Shoals, the Career Academy and (dual enrolls at) Athens Tech, so he’s technically at three different schools where the learning was different in each environment,” Gallagher said. “For him, doing work on the computer was more frustrating because he couldn’t talk to his teacher so that he could get extra work or stay after school for additional help.”
Despite the new policy, Gallagher believes some students may continue to struggle completing their work online.
“I think it’s going to hit all high schoolers a lot differently, especially if they weren’t passing classes beforehand and they just have to work a lot harder (now),” Gallagher said. “I can only think about the high school students who are at home with younger siblings who have parents who go to work. So, they don’t really have as much flexibility (to get work done) because they are also watching younger siblings.”
According to CCHS Associate Principal Dr. Linda Boza, the district has been working hard to accommodate all students’ situations and concerns.
“Everyone will go into next year on even footing. I know educators all across the nation, and we are all faced with the same dilemma,” Boza said. “Teachers will know and understand that there is a gap and will address it as necessary.”
Boza wants all students to work to improve their grade and focus on their mental health as they finish out the school year.
“Right now, students need to focus on doing what it takes to raise their grades and pass their classes. If I were a student, I would take every advantage given to me in order to continue my learning and understanding of the standards,” Boza said. “It is important, above all, to take care of your mental health. Go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. Exercise your body and your mind, read, play games with your family and get back to the basics.”
