Polices - C.Lawrence Academy

Attendance Policy

C.Lawrence Academy runs asynchronous online courses. Therefore, students are free to login and work on their course materials at their own pace. Each course is designed to take 110 hours to complete. All the course assignments, including the final exam, must be completed within 4 months from the enrollment start date. However, students can apply for extensions. Each extension is one month, up to 2 extensions, if they need more time to study.

Students are expected to visit their course(s) at least once every five days, include weekends and scheduled holidays, for the duration of enrolment. Failure to login to their course(s) over 5 days will be considered absent and recorded on the report card. If a student fails to attend his/her course(s) over 30 days, the student will be suspended from that course, and no credit will be granted.

Regular school attendance is critical for the students’ learning and achievement of course expectations. If the student’s academic success is jeopardized, the school staff will arrange a meeting with the student and his/her parents. The meeting may be conducted in person or over the internet. The required steps to improve the student’s attendance will be discussed with all stakeholders.

Missed and Late Assignments Policy

C.Lawrence Academy makes it clear to the students and parents/guardians early in the school year that they are responsible not only for their behavior in the classroom/school but also providing evidence of their achievement in the overall expectations within the time frame specified by the teacher. Students must understand that there will be consequences for not completing any course material on time. In the teacher’s professional judgment, a number of strategies will be used to encourage the student to improve his/her behavior. Some of these may include:

Asking the student to clarify the reason for not completing the assignment before deadlines.
Maintain ongoing communication with students and/or parents about due dates and late assignments and schedule conferences with parents if the problem persists.
Setting up a student contract
Providing alternative assignments or tests/exams where, in the teacher’s professional judgment, is reasonable and appropriate to do so.
Deducting marks for late assignments, up to and including the full value of the assignments.

Students and parents/guardians will be informed in a timely fashion via phone call, face to face conference, email, or formal letter regarding the importance of submitting work and the consequences for students who do not comply. If the above measures have been deployed and the student still chooses not to submit their assignments before deadlines, a grade of ZERO will be given to missed assignments.

POLICY on PLAGIARISM and CHEATING

This policy intends to clearly state the expectations of students for research and completion of work for assessment.

Plagiarism is defined as one or a combination of the following;

– copying of assignments

– copying of graphs, tables, graphics

– copying the work of peers

– copying or close imitation of published work (texts, periodicals, pamphlets, recordings)

– copying Internet web sites

– copying homework

– misrepresenting the ideas and/or work of others as your own

Cheating is defined as one or a combination of the following;

– giving your work to others, including helping them in any way during tests or exams

– using the work of others

– copying the work of others on tests or exams

– using unauthorized aids during tests or exams (e.g. notes, smartphones, etc.)

Consultation

The Plagiarism / Cheating policy will always be online for students to review. If a student is unsure of what constitutes plagiarism/cheating, it is their responsibility to clarify with teachers. A lack of understanding of what constitutes plagiarism/cheating is not an excuse or defense. It will not be considered in determining the consequences.

Consequences

The first incident of plagiarism or cheating will result in a resubmission/rewrite of that particular assignment/test at the end of the course in the student’s own time and at his/her own expense to pay for the creation and grading of the new assessment. This incident will be documented in the office. The second incident of plagiarism or cheating in any course will result in zero for that assignment. (For example, if you cheat on a math test and then plagiarize an English essay, you will receive a zero on the essay.) Further, depending on the severity and frequency of the incident(s), the Principal may impose additional consequences, including suspension and/or expulsion from the School (extreme circumstances). No refunds for all the paid tuition are given for consequences associated with plagiarism/cheating.

Personal Security

Any illicit or suspicious activities should not be responded to and should be immediately reported to C.LA administration.
Beware of emails from anyone, particularly adults you do not know, asking for personal information, attempting to arrange meetings, or engaging in intimate contact.
Alert your instructor or other C.LA employee of any message you receive that is inappropriate or makes you feel uncomfortable.
C.LA cannot guarantee the appropriateness or accuracy of the information that students may access on the internet outside of C.LA. For those students who access C.LA from a home computer, parents should be aware of this and monitor their children’s communications and use of the internet.

Bullying Policy

C.LA believes that all students have a right to a safe and healthy school environment. The district, schools, and community have an obligation to promote mutual respect, tolerance, and acceptance.

C.LA will not tolerate behavior that infringes on the safety of any student. A student shall not engage in bullying behaviors. Such behavior includes: creating a web page or a blog while pretending to be someone else, impersonating another person as the author of posted content or messages, communicating material or messages to more than one person, or posting on an electronic platform one or more persons can access.

Any student who engages in bullying may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including expulsion.
Students are expected to report incidents of bullying to the Principal or staff immediately.
Students can rely on staff to promptly investigate each bullying complaint thoroughly and confidentially.
If the complainant student or the student’s parent feel that the appropriate resolution of the investigation or complaint has not been reached, please do not hesitate to notify the School. The school system prohibits retaliatory behavior against any complainant or any participant in the complaint process.