Review important policies below regarding Middle School
Attendance at ACA
At ACA, only the Caretaker or Learning Coach can record attendance. Once the Caretaker enters the number of hours of attendance for a given day, the attendance record cannot be changed by the Caretaker. If the Caretaker has entered incorrect attendance hours, they must send written documentation to the teacher requesting a change.
ACA must report daily attendance to the state beginning the first day of school for each student. This means your child must "attend" school a specific number of hours per week. Students in Grades K - 3 are required to attend 20 hours per week, while students in Grades 4 - 12 are required to attend 25 hours per week. The school week runs from Sunday to Saturday. A student may be withdrawn if they are lacking attendance for 10 percent of the annual instructional time. Also, a student must be withdrawn on the 10th consecutive day of missing attendance.
In order to maximize student learning, regular attendance is imperative. The ACA program offers a great deal of flexibility about how many hours students spend each day on school work and on what days of the week they complete that work. Due to this flexibility, ACA has zero tolerance for truancy. Caretakers are held legally responsible for ensuring that their students are fully participating in school, even if they have designated another individual as their student's Learning Coach. The information below is intended to help Caretakers understand how to avoid having their student be considered truant, and to understand the consequences of truancy.
In order to avoid truancy, the Caretaker must ensure that the following activities are taking place: 1.) The Caretaker or Learning Coach must enter attendance on a weekly basis in accordance with the Required Instructional Hours section (Section 3.4.2) 2.) The student completes assigned lessons and assessments. 3.) The student participates in educational activities for an appropriate number of hours, as outlined in the Required Instructional Hours of the handbook and the Caretaker or Learning Coach records these attendance hours in the Education Management System on a daily basis. 4.) The student is available for regularly scheduled telephone calls with teachers. 5.) The student attends any assigned mandatory LiveLesson® sessions. 6.) The student is able to demonstrate that they are doing their own schoolwork. 7.) The student attends mandatory state testing. 8.) The Caretaker or Learning Coach has communicated with the homeroom teacher in advance if they need to deviate from the regular school calendar (for example, switching a vacation and school day).
If the students’ teachers become aware that the student is not fully participating in school as outlined above, the student will be marked absent at the teacher’s discretion. The School Leader may override the number of attendance hours previously entered by a Learning Coach, changing the attendance hours to a 0, if the student’s teacher(s) believe the student has not participated as required. These absences will be considered “unexcused.” Absences are generally considered “excused” only for documented student illness or the death of an immediate family member. The final decision about whether an absence is considered excused or unexcused will be made by the School Leader.
Per A.R.S. § 15-803, “truant” means an unexcused absence for at least one class period during the day, a “habitually truant” student is a truant child who is truant for at least five school days within a school year. Students who are considered “habitually truant” may be withdrawn from ACA.
The state of Arizona requires students to receive a composite score in the 97th percentile on a state-approved assessment to qualify as gifted. If you would like your student to be assessed for the gifted program, please contact your homeroom teacher.
At ACA, we believe that all students can learn at high levels and we are determined to continue to provide opportunities for students who need a greater level of challenge in their learning. We believe that gifted students should engage in learning that requires persistence and task commitment. Students enrolled in our Gifted and Talented program must maintain the following requirements to remain eligible:
Students should maintain a grade of B or better in any gifted courses. If your student is earning a C, they should work more closely with their learning coach and teacher to create goals to help them improve. Students with a D or F for more than 2 weeks will be referred to the assistant principal for review and may be removed from gifted courses.
Students in Gifted Language Arts 3-8 MUST attend the mandatory Literature Study LiveLesson sessions. If your student misses 3 consecutive LiveLesson sessions, the teacher will refer the student to the appropriate assistant principal and they may be removed from gifted Language Arts.
We enjoy the opportunity to provide our gifted students with more advanced options for their learning. If you or your student need additional help and support with coursework or time management skills, please contact your teacher. If you have questions about the gifted program or these requirements, please let me know.
High School Courses Taken in Middle School
Students may earn high school credit for high school level courses taken during the middle school years. A middle school course for which high school credit is granted must cover the same content as the equivalent high school course and must be approved by the school counselor in advance. Check with the school counselor for more specific information. Students taking high school courses during middle school are subject to the same guidelines as other high school students, including:
6 week drop/add period
Courses must be taken in the proper sequence
Final grades will not be removed from the student's transcript
Placement is dependent on counselor approval
Middle school requirements must be met before students will be eligible for high school courses
During enrollment, students with documentation of high school level courses taken during middle school will be required to submit the Verification of High School Credit form before being placed into courses. The form must be completed by the student’s previous school. The form will be verified by authorized school personnel to determine if the credit earned in middle school meets the state’s high school level standards.
At ACA, student learning is our main concern. Student grades reflect whether they have learned the material or not. When students do poorly, it is important that they have an opportunity to re-learn.
Honor Code Violations at ACA
The Honor Code is a pillar of Arizona Connections Academy and our objective is that our students achieve high learning outcomes through honesty, trust, and integrity.
Being at home, on the computer, we understand how difficult it can be for our students to demonstrate academic honesty. But, by the very nature of being a virtual program, we take academic dishonesty very seriously. It's important that you and your child understand the seriousness of academic dishonesty and its consequences.
To ensure a positive and productive learning environment during Livelesson sessions, it is important that all students adhere to the behavioral expectations set forth by their teachers when in a Livelesson. Students should be respectful and use the appropriate tone and language when addressing other students and teachers. Students shall refrain from posting or sharing harmful and offensive comments, messages, photos, and other material.