Academics

Graduation Requirements

Graduation: Completion of the requirements for a high school diploma is an achievement that contributes to the community as well as the individual. Students participating in the celebration must successfully complete the graduation requirements of the school district.  Participation in graduation ceremonies is a privilege and a student's privilege of participating in a graduation ceremony may be revoked as a consequence of violating student discipline policies.The graduation status of all students will  be reviewed by school counselors upon completion of the junior year. Senior students with insufficient credits for graduation shall be granted all privileges and opportunities afforded other seniors with the exception of participation in  the graduation exercises. It is the responsibility of the student and his or her  family to make sure all graduation requirements are met.

Portfolio Requirement: All students will complete an Academic & Career Portfolio  (ACP) with Individual Learning Plan and participate in a senior year exit  interview with parents, teachers and community members. At the principal’s discretion, students in alternative educational programs, including virtual  school, may be exempted from this requirement. Students need to complete a minimum of  ten (10) Volunteer or Community Service hours to be eligible for graduation.

Civics Exam Requirement: All public, charter, and private voucher schools may not grant a diploma to a  pupil unless the pupil has successfully completed the civics exam; and an  individual may not receive a GED or HSED until they successfully complete  the civics exam. This will be a locally administered exam (not part of the  statewide pupil assessments.) The specific requirements can be found on the DPI’s website.

Early Graduation: The School Board believes that with rare exception, the  benefits of a high school education cannot be fully realized in less than four  years. Further, the senior year is viewed as an important period for academic  growth, exploration, and enrichment, as well as for social growth and maturity.  The following rules are established for students who choose early graduation:  

Requirements: The candidate must have completed seven semesters of  high school attendance, met all the graduation credit requirements, and  followed the procedures below (B). Students meeting the requirement after  six semesters who have special circumstances may petition the high school  principal and district administrator for early graduation. If circumstances are deemed valid, the student must follow the procedures below:  

• A letter from the student requesting early graduation should  be submitted to the high school principal before the start of the  second semester of the junior year. Requests made after the  start of the second semester may not be considered.  

• The high school principal will request a meeting with the  student, his/her parents/legal guardians, and his/her counselor to discuss the early graduation request.

• Once the student has completed graduation requirements  and has left school, the student will not be eligible to participate  in any curricular or co-curricular activities. The student may,  however, participate in graduation exercises.

• A student who does not participate in the graduation exercise  will receive a diploma after graduation.

Grade Level Benchmarks: To encourage students to make normal progress  towards graduation, the following benchmarks have been established for  grade level advancement.

High School Honors Recognition

Laude Model: The Laude Latin model will recognize academic excellence at the conclusion of a student’s high school career.  Students will work to compete against the criterion for academic honors. A student’s final cumulative GPA will be used to determine the level of honor  on a student’s high school transcript, diploma, and for academic recognition  at commencement exercises.  

The following three levels of academic honors will be used.  

• Summa Cum Laude “with highest distinction” – cumulative GPA average of 4.00+  (Gold cord)

• Magna Cum Laude “with great distinction” - Cumulative GPA average of 3.75  to 3.99 (Silver cord)

• Cum Laude “with distinction” – Cumulative GPA average of 3.33 to 3.749  (White Honors Cord)

Honor Roll : Students with a GPA between 3.5 and 3.749 are named to the honor roll. Students with a GPA of 3.75 or better are named to the high honor roll to be published after each semester using the semester GPA.

Academic Lettering : Academic lettering is another way in which Whitewater High School students can be recognized for outstanding school work. Students receive academic award points each semester based on GPA.  Students earn one point for a GPA of 3.50 – 3.749 and two points for a GPA  of 3.75 or higher.

a. Freshmen on the Honor Roll receive a certificate

b. Students accumulating three points receive an academic T-shirt

c. Students accumulating six points receive an academic letter

d. Students accumulating ten points receive a pin

Academic Achievement Reporting and Recognition:

• Student transcripts will include the student’s GPA and Laude honors, if applicable.  

• Class ranking will be available upon request.  

• The Rock Valley Conference Academic Awards recognizes the top students per school

• The top two senior GPA’s are reported to the State of Wisconsin Higher Educational Aid Board to qualify for Academic Excellence Scholarship. (Eligible students must attend a Wisconsin college or university.)  

Valedictorian and Salutatorian: In the interest of encouraging and recognizing outstanding academic achievement, the District’s most highly honored students will be selected from each graduating class according to the following procedure:

• The valedictorian will be the student with the highest cumulative grade point average (carried out to two decimal places) as computed at the end of seven semesters of high school work.

• In the case of a tie for valedictorian, co-valedictorians will be honored, and a salutatorian will not be selected in that year.

• If there is only one valedictorian, a salutatorian will be the student with the second highest cumulative grade point average as computed at the end of seven semesters of high school work.

• In the case of a tie for salutatorian, co-salutatorians will be honored.

• In order to be eligible for valedictorian or salutatorian honors, the student must have attended Whitewater High School for at least one high school year  (two complete semesters) prior to the senior year, and complete senior year  successfully. Each case will be considered individually related to foster care, homelessness, and trauma. The high school principal will be responsible for determining valedictorian and salutatorian.  

•  In the case of a tie for valedictorian, all valedictorians will deliver a Class Address at graduation.

For the purpose of recognition during the transition to a weighted grading system, the Class of 2024 and 2025 valedictorian(s) will be those students who achieve a cumulative unweighted grade point average of 4.0 or higher. As it relates to awarding the Academic Excellence Scholarship (Policy 461), the Class of 2024 and 2025 will continue to use the unweighted grading scale and tie breaking procedures.  In the unlikely event that the highest grade point average is below a 4.0, the individual with the highest GPA will be named the valedictorian. Starting with the Class of 2026 and beyond, the valedictorian and AES recognition process will follow the steps outlined above.

Grading Periods / Notifications

Progress Checks: The purpose of a progress check is to provide a vehicle for communicating specific student accomplishments or difficulties to parents throughout the grading period. Please note that the Infinite Campus gradebook is available at any time and parents are encouraged to check their student’s academic progress on a consistent basis.  

Report Cards:  Report cards and official transcripts will become available in Infinite Campus one week after the completion of 1st and 2nd semester.  Requests for transcripts may be made by filling out the Transcript Request Form on the Student Services webpage. All semester grades will be included on the report cards for GPA   Grades are awarded using the scale found below.  An incomplete (“I”) is considered an “F” until it is made up.  

Weighted Grades: The primary purpose of a weighted grading system is to encourage high school students to take more rigorous courses. This effort is then acknowledged by more weight being given to the grade for dual credit classes. All courses in which a student earns Dual Credit (any course which awards high school credit and post secondary credit) will qualify for the weighted grading scale. This includes courses in: Advanced Placement, UW- Whitewater Partners in Education (PIE), Early College Credit Program (four year college courses), Start Start College Now (two year college courses), Transcripted credit (college courses taught by WHS teachers) , Vanguard (Gateway Technical College Distance Learning courses), HS Academies (Gateway Technical College courses) and other courses designed as Dual Credit.

Semester Exams: All classes have semester exams (except 2nd semester AP classes)  and account for 10-20% of the semester grade. During the last three days of each semester, classes will be held for 90 minutes to allow for exams. No more than three exams will be scheduled per day. Graduating seniors will not take exams in their final semester.

WUSD Philosophy and Guidelines on Homework: The teacher, parent, and student are partners in the student’s education and therefore all have  important roles regarding homework. There is a shared responsibility among  the parent, student, and teacher to communicate about homework in an open and ongoing process as well. The following chart demonstrates the responsibility of all parties:  

Credit Recovery & Online Learning Opportunities 

Credit Recovery Guidelines: Students who fail a first semester class with a 49.5% or higher will be provided the opportunity to recover the credit during a 10 school day window at the start of second semester.  The student will be given a credit recovery plan and assigned supervisor to support the credit recovery process.

Students who fail a first or second semester class with a 49.5% or higher will be provided the opportunity to recover the credit during summer school.  The student will be given a credit recovery plan and assigned supervisor to support the credit recovery process.

Online Courses: Wisconsin Virtual School (WVS) is an optional virtual program for students wanting to supplement instruction and/or take courses not offered within the school building (unless approved by administration). Information regarding full time virtual programming can be found here.

Students taking WVS courses to supplement full-time enrollment in the School District of Whitewater understand:

• WVS singleton courses will be monitored by WHS staff

• Students are allowed to enroll in no more than two WVS courses per semester.

• All WVS courses are assessed with letter grades and will impact a student's GPA.

WHS administration may deny a request for WVS singleton course enrollment for the following reasons:

• The course is available via the traditional curriculum and viable in the student’s schedule.

• The course does not reflect the student’s post-secondary Academic and Career Plan.

• There is reason to believe virtual coursework may not be a good fit for the student’s learning style.

Requests for WVS course deadline extensions due to extenuating circumstances must receive prior approval from administration.  The costs associated with an extension may be the responsibility of the student and parent.  WHS semester guidelines and due dates must be followed or GPA calculation may be affected.

Dropping a WVS Course

Requests to drop a WVS course without penalty must be received within the first 10 school days after activation. If a course is dropped after the initial 10-day window, a final grade of an F will be reported and added to the student’s transcript.

The District shall only pay for WVS courses that are successfully completed. If a student receives a failing grade in a course, or fails to complete the course, the student and parent is responsible for reimbursing the district for the costs paid by the district [  ~$290 + materials]. If this reimbursement is not made upon request, the student is ineligible for any further participation with WVS. WUSD will only pay for necessary non-consumable materials (textbook, lab fees, etc.). All additional individual course requirements (cameras, special equipment, etc.) are the responsibility of the student.

Academic Dishonesty

Each student has a right to a learning environment where fair academic competition and honesty is reflected by each student submitting only his/her original academic work. Students have the responsibility to submit only his/her own original academic work.

Academic dishonesty is defined as any form of cheating or misrepresentation of one’s original academic work. It includes, but is not limited to the following:

• The intentional use of a source specifically not allowed for a school assignment, quiz, test or examination.

• Plagiarism

• Copying or stealing another person’s work

• Allowing another person to copy one’s own work

• Doing another person’s work

• Providing another person with a copy of or answers on tests or quizzes

• The use of kits or commercially produced projects except when specifically approved by the teacher

• Unauthorized copying of software

• Copying or using another student’s electronically saved work

• Use of AI technology to generate work

Cases of academic dishonesty will be addressed on a case by case basis. Administration reserves the right to apply a consequence that is fitting for the situation, which may include a parent conference, re-doing the work, a zero on the activity, or removal from the class for repeated behavior.