Course format and program specific policies
This page outlines Kolbe policies that pertain to each course format or program type. Whether you are homeschooling through traditional homeschooling, asynchronous classes, or live online classes, you will find policies that pertain to your specific courses here.
Traditional Courses & Grade Reporting Policies
The Kolbe Grade Reporters are the “teachers of record” and hold final say on acceptance of work submissions and adherence to Kolbe academic standards. Samples must reflect current grade level expectations to receive credit.
Only courses that students are registered in on course registration can be reported for a grade. Kolbe requires parents to report grades within the student’s enrollment year.
Asynchronous Course Policies
Assignment Policies
Assignments in asynchronous courses are posted and available for the entire year with due dates applied to help pace the student through the course in order. While the due dates are flexible in nature, students must work through the course in order.
Gradebook Categories and Assignment Types
Major Assignments (MA) – Major Assignments include tests, exams, papers, labs, or other major projects and are required to be submitted to receive the Asynchronous Course designation (A) on the student’s transcript.
(CFU) Check for Understanding assignments are designed to assess the student's mastery of the material and are required to be submitted to receive the Asynchronous Course designation (A) on the student’s transcript. These assignments most often include weekly checks, recitations, as well as a few others depending on the course.
(PA) Practice Assignments are designed to give practice opportunities to students as they move throughout the course and are generally graded on completion. Once a student has moved onto subsequent material, PAs skipped by the student will be exempted by the teacher and not factored into the grade. Some practice work assignments come with answer keys for students to self-grade. Those that come with answer keys must be self-graded to receive a completion grade from the teacher.
Order and Timing of Weekly Coursework
It has already been emphasized how important it is to complete work in the order it is laid out in the course. It can be tempting for students to rush ahead to the “required” work of the week, but the practice assignments will be especially important for preparing the student for any CFUs present in the course.
Moving Ahead to Future Weeks
Often students are excited to see what’s next, or the student may feel compelled to move through the material too quickly simply because it’s available. Parents are asked to have some oversight of students pacing in the course until a good pattern has been established and you know that they are ready to move onto the next week.
Weekly Check Assignments
The Weekly Check assignments are open-book and open-note, and students are encouraged to use their text when they come across a question they are unsure of. This will help them learn the material. Pay close attention to student scores on the weekly checks. If you see a low score, consider assessing how much time was spent on it and whether the student completed all preparatory work before attempting it. Students have one attempt on each weekly check.
Recitation Assignments
Recitation assignments ask students to submit an audio or video response reciting something they’ve written, learned, or memorized. Recitations may ask the student to submit a thesis statement, describe or demonstrate a process, or to just respond with a few sentences. Most of the recitations will require preparation in the form of writing ahead of time. Students may choose to re-record as needed. A rubric is provided to help guide students on how each will be evaluated.
Due Date Policies
Assignments have due dates applied to help pace the student through the course in order. Due dates are only there for pacing, and there is no grade penalty for turning assignment in after the due date. To encourage students to proceed through the course in the order it was meant to be, the following gradebook flags will be used during the course:
Major Assignments (MA) and Check for Understanding (CFU) will be marked with the “Missing” flag when subsequent assignments have been turned in occurring later in the course. The “Missing” flag automatically assigns a grade of zero to the assignment to ensure it is brought to the attention of both the student and parent. This flag also leaves it in the “Overdue” feed in Schoology so that a student doesn’t miss it. A student can still submit the assignment with no grade penalty up through the end of the semester.
Practice Assignments will be marked with the “Exempt” flag once subsequent assignments have been turned in later in the course. The “Exempt” flag takes the assignment out as factor in the gradebook, and it will no longer appear on the “Overdue” feed in Schoology. Students may not submit PAs once the assignment has been exempted.
If you don’t plan to use the due dates, it’s a good idea to let your teacher know so that they are aware.
Semester Exams (Grades 6-12)
Every asynchronous course has an end of semester exam. Some are cumulative while others may just be the final test for the semester, depending on the course. Taking the semester exam communicates to the teacher that the student has completed all work that he or she would like credit for during the semester. Any incomplete work will be given a zero or excused, depending on the grading category for that assignment (zero for Major and CFU Assignments, excused for Practice Assignments). The student’s final semester grade will then be reported by the teacher once it is graded.
Semester Grades
Once a student takes the end-of-semester exam, the semester grade will be finalized by the teacher. Students should not begin their final exam for the semester unless he or she has completed all of the semester's Check for Understanding (CFU) and Major Assignments (MA), which are required for credit. Any incomplete CFU or MA assignments will be factored into the grade as a zero if they have not been completed prior to taking this semester exam.
Online Course Policies
Attendance Policies
Kolbe Academy realizes that there are times when a student has a legitimate reason for missing school (illness, family circumstances, etc.). However, students who are frequently absent should not expect continuous assistance from their teachers concerning out-of-class help, and can certainly put their grade and overall learning in jeopardy.
To encourage live attendance, which Kolbe Academy deems a very necessary part for success in the online classes, the following attendance policies are in place:
Grades K-12 Attendance Policy
Attendance is tracked and recorded in Schoology. Students who are absent for 10 or more live classes will have a meeting with the Dean of Students to determine whether the online school continues to be the right fit for the student.
If a student is absent from class, he or she is required to follow up with the teacher to ask how to make up anything from the missed class. If the student misses a graded live class activity, the teacher may either waive the in-class activity for the student or provide a method for make-up.
Extended Absences
Kolbe respects parental authority and understands that there are times when students will need to miss school for a variety of reasons. We do, however, encourage families to be mindful of the challenge of keeping up in online courses and making up work when students are absent for a significant amount of time. On the occasion an extended absence is needed when the student will not be able to submit assignments on time, a parent should reach out to the Dean of the Students to formulate a plan for this absence from school. Notification to the Dean should be made in writing with the expected dates of absence and giving as much notice as possible. Teachers are not allowed to make arrangements for extended absences. Assignment extensions are determined by the Dean of Students but may not extend beyond two weeks after the student returns to school. Families who request extended absences that span an excessive number of weeks throughout a school year will be required to meet with the Dean of Students to determine whether the online school continues to be the right fit for the student.
Tardy Policy
Absences and tardiness are tracked in Schoology. Students are asked to sign into their online course 10 minutes before class begins to do a mic check. A “tardy” is defined as signing into class for the first time after the teacher has begun class. In the online environment, it can be tempting to slip into class unnoticed by the teacher after class has begun. However, coming late to class is not only disruptive to the flow of the already limited live class time, but it is also disrespectful toward teachers and fellow students.
Assignment Policies
Grades K-5 Assignment Policy
Assignment Availability: A Week at a Glance document will be emailed each Friday. This outlines the weekly workload. The week’s assignments will be posted before classes begin on Monday.
Pacing: Assignments are given recommended daily due dates to set a pace that improves student outcomes by spreading the workload throughout the week.
Assignment Types:
(CFU) Check for Understanding assignments are teacher-directed assignments designed to assess the student's mastery and are required to be submitted to the teacher for grading.
(PA) Practice Assignments are parent-assisted assignments designed to give practice opportunities to students while flagging areas of concern throughout the week. PAs in grades 2-5 may be submitted for grading to the teacher or completed at home orally with the family as desired. PAs not submitted by the student will be excused by the teacher.
Grades 6-12 Assignment Policy
Assignments in the Online School for Grades 6-12 are due according to the individual instructor’s due dates.
Assignments may come due Monday-Friday, not including holidays or breaks.
Late Assignment Policies
There are times when a student has a legitimate reason for turning in assignments late (illness, family circumstances, etc.). However, students who continually turn in assignments late should not expect ongoing or regular accommodation from teachers. Keeping up with deadlines is directly correlated to how successful a student will be in the course. Late assignments can have a “snowball effect,” causing the student to have an extremely difficult time getting caught up.
In order to aid in student success, Kolbe has adopted an intentionally strict late assignment policy for grades K-12. The intent of this policy is not punitive, but rather to reduce the incidence of student failure due to excessive late work. We strive to strike a balance between utilizing a declining scale for late work, including assigning a grade of zero for late work after a number of days, and providing a motivation for students to complete assignments so as to learn the material in a timely manner.
Students (or parents for K-5) MUST email their teacher if they need to make arrangements for an assignment extension. Additionally:
The teacher will decide how to accommodate the student’s request for an extension based on the individual’s situation.
Students who have received an extension should have a new agreed-upon due date that is no more than one week past the original due date.
Teachers cannot accept late work after the end of the term unless there is an extenuating circumstance.
In the case of extenuating circumstances (i.e., death in the family, natural disaster, extended illness), a parent should contact the Dean of Students who will work with the teacher(s) to set up something appropriate for the situation.
Teachers may choose to accommodate a student’s request for an assignment extension in the following cases:
1. Sickness
2. Family emergencies—death in the family, serious illness, natural disaster, or some unpredictable event
Grades K-5 Late Assignment Policy
Grades 2-5 Practice Assignments (PA) Late Policy
Practice Assignments from the current week that are not submitted by the following Monday before classes begin are considered past-due, and they will not receive feedback from the teacher. They will be excused.
K-5 Check for Understanding (CFU) Assignments Late Policy
CFU Assignments from the current week that are not submitted by the following Monday before classes begin are considered past-due and will incur the following late assignment policy:
Submitted after classes begin Monday: 10% grade reduction
Submitted Tuesday-Thursday: 50% grade reduction
Turned in after Thursday, a grade of ZERO is given.
Grades 6-12 Late Assignment Policy
If a student turns in an assignment past the due date without contacting the teacher and receiving an extension, the following applies:
The first day past due: 10% grade reduction
2-7 days past due: 50% grade reduction
More than 7 days past due: a grade of ZERO is earned.
Exam Policies
Semester Exams (Grades 6-12)
Semester exams for live online courses will be open for a multi-day exam period as indicated on the school calendar. Parents MUST proctor exams during exam weeks, so it is prudent for both parents and students to come up with an exam schedule that suits the individual family. Students who do not complete the exams during the set exam days will not be able to make up exams at a later date unless there are extenuating circumstances.
Quarterly Assessments (Grades K-5)
During quarterly assessments, K-5 students will have a modified live class schedule. Students will have review sessions during assessment week. Conferences are available during assessment week by request. Parents proctor exams during exam weeks, so it is prudent for both parents and students to come up with an exam schedule that suits the individual family. Teachers may balance exams between live class time and times that can be worked into the family’s schedule for the week.
Late Exam Policy
Students who are not able to meet the deadline for a semester exam must have a parent email the instructor before the deadline is missed and preferably before the exam is open. All exams must be made up within a week of the due date. If a teacher is informed about not being able to complete a semester exam after the due date has passed, the late assignment policy will be applied to the exam. In the case of extenuating circumstances, a parent should contact the Dean of Students.