New+Visions+Graduation+Requirements

On Oct 26th, several TRCS staff members went to the New Visions Training in the Bronx. Here are our observations and conclusions.

Need For A Course Accreditation Committee State Standards v City Standards 54 hours requirements

__Nick's Notes__ (NOTE, some of these requirements are for City, not State. These need to be identified, so as to avoid confusion)

New Visions Training at the South Bronx campus:

Judy Garcia jgarcia@newvisions.org 212 645 5110. Graduation Requirements, 23 years at Clara Barton

Quiz Answers: A student gets credit if they take a course, they pass and its credit bearing

A class must meet 54 hours. PE is worth .58 credits per semester. For a total of 4 credits.

PE is for 7 passing semesters. It must be offered all 8, however.

Independent study is no different than a regular class, not exempt from credits.

Art and Music are required courses.

Students gave all the way up to the senior year to pass the regent exams.

Students may take physical setting for credit.

Students from other states and countries do not get credit for anything that we do not give as courses.

IEP diploma and local are different.

4 terms of Math A.

Graduation Requirements are based on WHEN the students enter 9th grade/HS, no matter when they enter our school.

Color code the students (red, blue, green) by year of entry into 9th grade.

Until the day before their 22nd birthday, students have the right to be in school.

Graduation Requirements

For graduation, they must have courses and credits AND Regents.

A student must meet the IEP requirements to get an IEP diploma. You can’t just wait till junior year, say that they can’t pass math, and then give them an IEP diploma. It pays to review the IEP with the appropriate special education person in your school. Review early You can change an IEP with a TYPE 2 evaluation to make the IEP clearer.


 * English.**

8 Credits. Does not require Eng 1-8, it must show 8 credits of English. Permanent Record lists courses by area. Mechanically, code the course with an E. Also, it must meet state standards, which there are books of. Each school should have a course accreditation committee to say, “Yes, this is an English course.”

How can the students be prepared for college work? Make sure that fourth year of college: NCAA also looks at students who are eligible for scholarships, if the transcripts are not clear and up to date, they are denied. E1b: Students will learn listening skills

Bilingual English is an acceptable English course: L…

A confidential file should exist as well, not in a public place. There should be a log for every time we meet a child.

Guidance Records must be spic and span. Each child should be able to go line by line, explaining how the kids graduated. Guidance includes the complete set of transcripts, undated once a semester, a copy of the latest report card, HSST is the DOE for record keeping. One sheet of paper with all the classes. Guidance review cards, the big white cards, a mandated form which annotates the interviews with the child, career interviews, info about child. They can be ordered as supplies, state mandate.

When an incident happens, the state can come to you and ask what were your dealings with the kids, interactions with the family. Document, CYA.


 * MATH**

6 credits. No “fundamentals of math, record keeping, pre-algebra”. They are dicey. When you are coding math and writing descriptions, you need to term it Math A Term 1, 2, 3, 4. The same class description should not be repeated multiple times.

They need SOME Math Regents.


 * SOCIAL STUDIES**

8 Semesters. It does not matter what order you give it. Start with global, because it’s a writing test, it’s in the sophomore year. “US history is a mistake for the freshmen year.” Another teacher says, they give a regents prep course in US. They give 4 regents the Freshman Year. US, Math, Living Env, ??

Participation and Economics, sometimes, are in the Freshman year. You CAN double up on Global the sophomore year. No one collects the data on how many times the kids take/fail the regents. What counts in if they PASS it. “Nobody cares the percent pass rate.”

The ACT is closer to the Regents. Most colleges take the highest score. In some parts of the city, there is a 30% mobility rate. It’s never been addressed.


 * SCIENCE**

6 credits of lab science Life science: forensics, bio, living environment, marine biology: one Regents Physical Sciences" Earth, Chem, Physics Pick one above, physical or life, for third year: 2, 2, 2 = 6

30 labs per year, 5 state mandated of which are required, for the regents. The labs must be separate from the class it self: 1200 minutes per year. The lab reports themselves must be kept on file. It is the teacher’s obligation to keep the students’ lab records. When the state comes in to examine an allegation, they check everything. SCIENCE has no credit, but it counts as a class. A standalone plus an add in.

Case: They invalidated the science regents at a school when the lab reports were invalidated.


 * SECOND LANGUAGE**

2 credits in the same language. Sign Language, Spanish, Mandarin, etc. They can be Sp 7 and 8, that’s okay.

Foreign Transcripts: Go to the embassy in NY, they usually have an educational liason. There is also a private one.

If a student comes from a Catholic school and the school wont give them a transcript because they owe money, they don’t have to give it. You must have it in writing, or a report card, or documentation.

If a kid comes from another state in the 11th grade, they aren’t in the 11th until YOU put them there.

If they pass the Spanish Regents with an 85, they can get 6 credits. Below 85 means no credit.

You CAN test out of a Regents, he gets a 91, they can get the credit if they do a project. Math 3 credits, Spanish 6 credits.

1 credit. Anything counts, visual, ceramics, graphics, photography, art history. Anything that looks or smells like art. Coded A
 * ART**

1 credit. Anything, performance, steel band, orquestra, music history, etc.
 * MUSIC**

1 credit. Important class. Straight information on adolesent.
 * Health**

What determines if you can give 1 credit for a class. 180 minutes a week OR 54 hours a semester.

You can split it up 3 periods a week/ 2 periods a week 1st Semester/2nd Semester. It’s .58 credits. 7 passing semesters of gym. If a student is on a PSAL team, and its documented, it needs to be on the transcript, with somebody’s name, as a teacher, to put their name on the grade. The athletic director should have a roster, do attendance, give a grade.
 * PE**

Chancellor’s regulations thick book includes Graduation Requirements. Promotion requirements for HS, nowhere does it say that a student may be retained in grade, if they have the sufficient number of credits (other that 10/11 4eng, 4 glob) If they have 8 credits, they are a sophomore.

You must offer PE in every term. A kid can have more credit, if they can fit it into the program. They can have a class and a PSAL class (team participation, not hours). That’s a pass/fail class.

3/2 is a .58 gym. Again, must be at least 54 hours a semester.


 * Electives**

If you add up all the classes, there are 7 short.

As long as they are legitimate classes, you can have what you want. They don’t have to uniform across the school. Double period gets double credit based on seat time.

SAT prep, Support, AIS does not get credit. Call it literacy skills, and document how it meets the standards.

Don’t label any class, Support, Fundamentals, Remedial. Those are red flags which say, this is not a legitimate course.

54 hours of community service, with an instructor and a curriculum can be called a class.

Extra Requirements beyond the State's mandate: You can demand 5 credits of English, as long as you are transparent from the beginning, it is okay.

There has to be a teacher in the room, to get credit.

You can always to Pass/Fail. You can give uncredited. You can put it on the transcript.


 * Creating Transcript**

CODEC: List of codes that your school uses for your courses. All of you English E, History with H, Science S, Math is M, etc. Physics is SP 1, 2.

You cannot make up your own course codes. If you want to give credit for English, it’s E1, it’s introduction to literature. Make it clear. Journalism, Creative Writing,. Global 1,2,3,4. As long as it’s clear, you’re okay with that.

Transcript is chronological, it’s a legal document. Grades, credits attempted, actual credits earned.

Portfolios may be different based on the school. You have to think what this means to a stranger. The transcript should be self evident.

You can’t give credit for the same class twice. It should be evident what the class is.

The Regents must be listed separately, not as a class.

There is 300 minutes a week = 1.5 credits. You cannot let a child out of your building without English in the 12th grade, a rigorous program, college bound.

Issuing of diplomas. Advanced regents diploma. The seal, merit, gold, etc.

Graduation Certification Form for guidance counselors which has all the requirements for merit, advanced, etc.

The Arts Sequence must be declared 6 credits.


 * When do the 65s kick in?**

Soon, students will have to get 65s, etc

Laminated Cards are good, with the graduation requirements. First year in the 9th grade.

FIRPA (family education privacy act)

You cannot give out information about a student’s grades, info: student, family, guardian or a release for someone else. You must have a letter on file from that parent or guardian.

Be very vigilant about people wanting information. If the cops come in, they cannot have it. ACS can have it because they are working in locos parentas. They must show ACS ID. If you have any doubt, ask for their supervisor on the spot, and make a call.

Check age requirement for Opt Out form.

Official transcripts can be sent to college. Never give a transcript to a student without a sealed envelop with the seal or the signature on the back.

Enrollment lists should not be left around.

Be vigilant with diplomas, they can be fraudulent. Never give a duplicate diploma. You can give a letter attesting to graduation with a school seal.

You can give a student an unofficial transcript, WRITE UNOFFICIAL, only send official to schools. School seals are critical. Keep them safe.

Students do not need parent signature to send a transcript to a college. You can put together a signature sheet for the student to sign, to release it.

More is okay, less is not.

Budget office Nov 16th. Legal mandates Jan 4th.