GUIDELINES FOR HIGH-SCHOOL TRANSCRIPTS
AND COURSE ASSIGNMENT
GATEWAY EXPECTS THE PARENT-TEACHER TO DIRECT THE STUDENT'S FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADUATION. Our goal, then, is to prepare a credible transcript representing the academic work of a student; whether for transferring credits to other high schools, or for entrance into colleges/universities, vo-tech schools, the military, or employment. To do this we evaluate the acceptability of a student's coursework. (For example, we do not consider "Spelling" to merit high school credit, even though a high school student should continue to study to improve that skill.) THIS EVALUATION IS TYPICALLY SENT TO THE PARENT/GUARDIAN IN THE SPRING OF THE STUDENT'S JUNIOR YEAR AFTER THE FIRST SEMESTER GRADES ARE RECEIVED. The following guidelines have been prepared to help steer your student toward a high-school diploma with a credible transcript, and to answer the most frequently asked questions
ALL Grade/Attendance Reports must be submitted for transcript requests. PLEASE ALLOW 7 - 10 DAYS FOR US TO PREPARE THE TRANSCRIPT (for withdrawals, insurance purposes, transfers, scholarships, college applications, etc.).
I. TIME REQUIREMENTS FOR HIGH SCHOOL
A. School Year
A school year is 180 days. A school day is a minimum of four (4) hours per day. We do not consider an 8-hour day as two (2) days. A day is a day, whether four or eight hours.
B. Credits
We consider a credit to be the equivalent of 150 classroom hours. This can include reading, writing, research, practice, performing, or computer use related to the subject matter. A 50-minute class each day for 180 days (the number of days in a school year) equals 150 hours. It is not necessary, however, to do the course in 50-minute increments. Other factors can maximize the quality of time for each subject such as personal tutoring, or a motivated student doing work on his/her own (as opposed to being in a classroom setting).
C. 21 Credits to Graduate
Twenty one credits are required to graduate. Normally, high school lasts four (4) years; therefore, one would suppose a student should take about five (5) courses per year. However, it may be better to take more courses in the ninth and tenth grades, when a student has more time to pursue academics. As the student gets older, it is possible that apprenticeships, part-time jobs, driving, and other activities will leave less time for academics. The student pursuing a college-track program will also need more time to apply for scholarships and fill out applications for admission, etc. Keep in mind, if the student transfers back into another school system (public or private), generally no more than eight (8) of the credits per year will be accepted as transfer credits. These schools may also require placement tests for subjects taught at home before they will accept the credits.
D. Summer School
It is possible to take up to three summer-school credits per summer. The summer school is typically expected to take 55-60 days. Should a student transfer to another school system, generally only two summer-school courses per year will be accepted as transfer credits. Please bear this in mind when choosing your courses. Also, summer-school courses should be submitted on a separate Grade/Attendance Form by the end of August.
E. Finishing High School Early
The minimum time for a student to do high school course work is about two and one-half years. A student may take two summer schools, which should include a unit of English each summer, plus two full school years to meet this requirement. (As you can see, the English units pose the greatest challenge for early completion of high school, so advanced planning is essential.) We consider about eight credits to be the upper limit for the two-semester school year.
II. SELECTING COURSES FOR CREDIT
A. Courses of Study
At the completion of high-school coursework, the transcript of a regular graduate will reflect either the "college-prep" or the "general" course of study. (The college-prep course of study requires more advanced coursework and that the student make a 21 composite on the ACT [or its equivalent], or be accepted by a college.) These students will receive the regular high-school diploma. (The course of study is recognized by the coursework shown on the transcript and the requirements met.) Note: resource or remedial courses will not be counted for credit toward the regular diploma requirements. A special-needs student may be eligible for a "special-education diploma."
B. Language Arts/English
All the language arts (literature, grammar, composition, vocabulary, spelling, poetry, etc.) are included in the one credit of English per two-semester year, or per summer school.
C. Physical Education
Physical Education credit is easily earned for home-educated students. Personal fitness programs, such as aerobics, weight training, martial arts, dance, horseback riding, jogging, team sports, and bicycling are just some of the possibilities. Generally, one-half credit is assigned for one school year or one summer school as students typically do about 75 hours of physical education in a year. However, if 150 hours are completed, a full credit can be assigned. In such cases, the parent should add an explanation on the grade/attendance report. For transfer students having one credit of "Wellness," we assign this as .5 credit of "Health" and .5 credit of "Physical Education."
D. Electives
We do not provide a list of electives since parents might suppose they were limited to whatever courses were on the list. In reality, there are practically limitless possibilities for electives - though in some cases we may determine that certain "electives" do not meet academic requirements. Some things a student does would be more appropriately recorded on a student's portfolio or resume, than on a transcript (e.g. community service and volunteer work). Activities such as mission work, or "soul-winning," while very worthwhile, will not be assigned academic credit. One elective often overlooked is a student's part-time job. This credit is called "Distributive Education." You may take one such credit for each year (one credit to equal 300 hours work).
E. "Honors/AP Courses"
All of Gateway's courses are "unweighted"; we do not have "Honors" or "AP" courses. We DO accept transfer credits from other schools which have these designations; however, they will not have extra weight in the cumulative GPA.
F. Earning Credits Before Ninth Grade
A student may acquire up to three high-school core-curriculum credits before he/she enters the ninth grade. However, not all core subjects are acceptable. For example, English, U.S. History, Physical Education, Health and Economics are among those which are not acceptable. High-school Physical Science before ninth grade would require Algebra as a pre- or co-requisite to be acceptable. Algebra I or II, Geometry, World History, or Foreign Language are other examples of acceptable subjects.
If most or all of the student's work is high-school level, he/she should be enrolled as a ninth grader. Be careful of advancing a student too quickly, however. A student may be required to take an ACT and score a specific minimum composite in order to graduate before his/her seventeenth birthday. A student, attempting to graduate early who does not make a sufficient ACT score will be considered to have done too much too quickly, and, therefore, not academically ready to graduate. In such cases, Gateway will not award a high school diploma.
G. Dual/Joint/Concurrent Enrollment Courses at colleges
NOTE: Although Gateway's Home Education program is not intended for private instruction by anyone other than parents or guardians, parents may use Dual Enrollment (and/or tutoring) as components of their home education program. DUAL ENROLLMENT IS NOT TO BE USED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR HOME EDUCATION. With the college's permission, it is possible for high-school juniors and seniors to receive high school and/or college credit for certain courses. Check the catalog at colleges near you. Please provide Gateway with the name of the college/university, the name of their program and a photocopy of the appropriate course description(s) from the college/university catalog. Generally, they will need a transcript, a grade-point average, and a letter of recommendation or permission from Gateway. We are happy to provide this service to students enrolled for the current school year. Some colleges also allow home-educated students to audit courses for high school credit. All grades must be current and up to date. Students must be enrolled with Gateway for the year in which they plan to pursue dual enrollment. Please allow 7 - 10 days for processing. NOTE: ATTENTION: HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELOR
H. Block System
Even though we do not encourage the "block system," sometimes parents decide this is the best course for their student. With the "block system," (also known as the "4 x 4 system"), a student takes four courses the first semester and four different courses the second semester. We do not permit a student take consecutive courses simultaneously (e.g., "Algebra I" and "Algebra II," or "English I" and "English II") as this may not be accepted by colleges.
III. KEEPING EXCELLENT RECORDS
A. Record-Keeping
Parents, please keep copies of student's Grade/Attendance forms and registrations for your records. Use the Planning Sheet enclosed in this packet to monitor credits throughout the student's high school years.
B. Grade/Attendance Reports: Courses by Specific Titles
Grade/Attendance Reports are very important during high school; therefore, we require that parents submit one grade report per semester (twice a year) in a timely manner. This will help to insure that the student is "on track." It is also especially important that the parent list courses by specific titles (e.g., Algebra I, instead of "Math," Biology, instead of "Science," and World History, instead of "History" or "Social Studies").
IV. PREPARING FOR GRADUATION
A. Graduates
For seniors, the final grades are due two weeks before the graduation ceremony in which he/she will participate. Information about any graduation ceremonies we know about (in the state of Tennessee) will be mailed in late fall of the current school year to all registered seniors who qualify for spring graduation ceremonies. If the student is not enrolled during the first two months of the current school year, he/she may not receive the information in time to meet the deadline for signing up, ordering invitations, caps and gowns, etc.
B. New Students as Seniors
New students who register as seniors with Gateway are asked to register early in the current school year. First-time seniors must be registered a minimum of six months in order to receive a diploma from Gateway. Also, seniors registering after the first of November do not meet most graduation sign-up deadlines, since most of these ceremonies take place in early May. Furthermore, the coordinators of these ceremonies usually do not let students "walk" in the ceremony if they have not received diplomas indicating all course work has been completed.
C. Seniors' Final Grades
Parents of seniors should submit their final grades before September 1. Any senior whose yearly or summer school grades are not received before that date must register for the new school year. Note that the official year of graduation will be the school year in which the student was last registered. This will mean little to some; however, to others graduating with "the class of ____" is important (dates on class rings, tassels, etc.).
V. TRANSCRIPTS FOR COLLEGE
A. Transcripts/Portfolios
A transcript reflects the individualized progress of a student's academic work. It is not designed to display all of the student's activities. It is best for a transcript to be simple and to the point -- more is not always better. Non-academic information such as character training, community service, volunteer work, descriptions of course work, achievements, and honors should be assembled by the parent/teacher in a portfolio which may accompany the transcript for college or scholarship applications, employment records, etc.
B. College & Scholarship Applications, Transcripts, etc.
Gateway Christian Schools offers assistance with transcripts, calculating GPAs and class ranks, signing college applications, assistance with National Merit Scholarship Semi-finalists' applications, and other scholarships, as well as any other necessary forms. Feel free to call the Guidance Counselor's office for help with these needs. Be aware that it requires 10-12 days for us to respond to these requests, so read the fine print on deadlines! For the first ten transcripts we send there is no fee. For additional transcripts, an offering of $2 per transcript is suggested. Multiple transcript requests are best submitted in writing (mail, e-mail, or fax). NOTE: ATTENTION: HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELOR
C. Final Transcripts & Diplomas
After the student has graduated from high school, please do not assume we will know to which college or university you wish the final transcript sent. Many students apply to several schools during the year. It is important that you contact us after your student's graduation, and tell us where the final transcript should go. Students who participate in organized graduation ceremonies may receive multiple "certificates" and/or "diplomas" from different sources. A diploma from another source does not mean the student has graduated from Gateway Christian Schools. If final grades are not in, the student has not graduated and we cannot provide a final transcript.
D. Preparing for College Admission
Parents who have their students on the college-prep track should stay current with the requirements of the State Board of Regents (whether in Tennessee, or other states). If a student is going to a private college/university, the parents should have the most current catalog listing all the requirements for admission to the school.
E. ACT/SAT Tests
The ACT/SAT tests need not be taken every time they are offered. Use the Gateway high school code: 431-421 when filling out the application for the ACT or the SAT test. Colleges and universities typically look at the highest score the student makes, but when a student applies for scholarships, all the scores can be averaged together for consideration. This can be a hindrance if the student has several test scores in the lower range which were taken early "for practice."
ACT www.ACT.org (319) 337-1270
SAT www.collegeboard.com (609) 771-7600.
Remember, these are just some of the general guidelines. We have always followed these basic policies; however, due to the growth in the numbers of high school students who are now being educated at home, we have recently felt these policies should be in a format available to the parents. The above cannot possibly cover all the possibilities and/or questions which may arise in your individual case. Home education by its very nature cannot be "pigeonholed" - and we are thankful this is so. Hopefully, this information will be of some help to you. Please keep these guidelines on file for reference. If you have questions that have not been addressed, we will be most happy to help you. If you are in doubt about anything, please contact us by phone, e-mail (gateway_@bellsouth.net), fax, or mail. We will assist you however and whenever we can.
Revised October 2005