Academic Program and Policies

Link to the Program Guide 

Students who reach the age of 18 will continue to be subject to Board of Education Policy and District and school rules and regulations.

Personal integrity is important. You are responsible for your integrity and your education. As a student, it is your duty to understand what is required on an assignment, to work honestly to fulfill it, and to guarantee that your final product is entirely your own work. Academic dishonesty is an obstacle to learning and to reaching your full potential. It is essential that a partnership in learning exists at the district among students, parents/guardians, and staff, and values the integrity of student performance and reinforces the intent of this academic integrity policy.

See Student Discipline section for more information regarding Academic Dishonesty.

For additional information on the District’s Grading and Promotion policies, please see Board Policy 6:280 Grading and Promotion.  

Students earn academic grade level promotion based upon the following earned academic credit sequence

1. In order to be promoted from grade 9 to grade 10, a student must pass a minimum of 5.00 units of academic credit.

2. In order to be promoted from grade 10 to grade 11, a student must pass a minimum of 10.00 units of academic credit.

3. In order to be promoted from grade 11 to grade 12, a student must pass a minimum of 15.00 units of academic credit.

4. In order to graduate and earn a diploma from Lyons Township High School District 204, a student must pass a minimum of 23.00 academic credits and fulfill all other District 204 requirements for high school graduation.

School counselors will meet with any of their advisees who are in jeopardy of not passing the required units of credit for promotion to the next grade level after 1st quarter, semester, and 3rd quarter grades have been issued. Counselors will inform students of their deficiency in credits and the possibility of not being promoted to the next grade level. Counselors will discuss with the student the various options available to  remediate the deficiencies. Once failure notices are received at the end of a school year and the following summer school session, counselors will contact students to make any necessary adjustments in the selection of courses for the following academic year.

For additional information on the District’s Graduation Requirements, please see Board Policy 6:300 Graduation Requirements.

A student must successfully complete all graduation requirements as specified by Board Policy 6:300 Graduation Requirements, the Illinois State Board of Education, and The School Code of Illinois.

For additional information on the District’s policies for awarding credit for non-District experiences, please see Board Policy 6:310 High School Credit for Non-District Experiences; Course Substitutions; Re-Entering Students.

The grading system at Lyons Township High School is consistent throughout the school, equitable and fair to all students, and reflective of student performance. Consistent grading practices ensure that a grade communicates a student’s level of achievement toward identified learning objectives at a point in time. This means:

1. A common syllabus is used by all teachers of the same course.

2. A common gradebook is used by all teachers of the same course.

3. Coursework is included in semester grades and accounts for no more than 10% of the final grade.

• Coursework directly impacts student performance on summative assessments.

4. “M” grades are used to indicate missing work in the Infinite Campus gradebook.

5. Attendance is excluded from the academic grade.

6. Students receive individual grades for work completed in groups. Group grades are not applied.

7. Extra credit is not given.

8. In all courses, with the exception of Dual Credit courses, assessments of the learning objectives counted as part of the achievement grade can be retaken or revised without penalty or restrictions on the grade.

• Students are required to turn in summative work on time. If a student fails to turn in a summative assessment on the date it is due without a valid excuse or excused absence, the student will not have an opportunity to retake or revise the summative assessment.

• Students are required to submit the majority of their coursework prior to the initial summative to be eligible for a retake/revision.

• There is a two-week window to submit summative missing work before the grade turns into a zero. Teachers will record a grade of Missing (M=0) until the work is turned in. 

• Students are required to submit the majority of their coursework prior to the initial summative to be eligible for a retake/revision.

• Course teams may choose to limit students to one retake/revision per summative assessment.

• Course teams may choose to limit the amount of retakes/revisions to a number that is equal to 50 percent of the total number of summative assessments eligible for retakes administered during the semester.

9. Course Teams will choose one of four options for final exam experiences.

• A Cumulative Final Exam

• A Final (Last) Summative Exam

• A Final Project or Performance

• An Opportunity to Retake, Revise or Reflect on the Work from the Semester

 Academic achievement is represented by the letter grades as follows:

A grade of “W” (Withdrawal) is used when a student drops or is removed from a course between the 10th day of a semester through the last day of the first or third quarter (see page 14 of the Academic Program Guide for acceptable circumstances). The grade “W” will appear on the report card and transcript thereafter. The “W” grade does not receive a grade point value, and is therefore not part of the weighted/unweighted GPA, or Honor roll computation.

A grade of "WF (Withdrawl Failure) is used when a student drops a course during the second or fourth quarters (i.e., the halfway point of later of a semester) or is removed from a course at any time. The "WF" grade will appear on the report card and transcript thereafter. The "WF" grade receives a grade point value of 0 and is part of the weighted/unweighted GPA, class rank, and Honor Roll computation.

Academic courses at LTHS are assigned levels based on their academic difficulty. Student placement in course levels is accomplished through a variety of measures including but not limited to prior academic performance, test results, teacher recommendation, and parent input. Brief descriptions of course levels are given below. More detailed information may be found in the Academic Program Guide.

1. Level III (Prep) – Preparatory courses are planned for students who have attained basic skills and who are working toward higher competencies. Preparatory courses are designed to prepare students for post-high school education.
2. Level IV (Accel) – Accelerated courses are planned for students working at a higher challenge level or at an accelerated pace.
3. Level V (Hon/AP) (see Board Policy 6:135—Accelerated Placement Program) – Honors and AP courses are planned for students with exceptionally rapid learning abilities or who are preparing for an Advanced Placement examination.

Level changes need review and approval by the Division Chair. Students requesting a change from initial course placement may include:

1. Level change (courses designated at different levels, and the content varies in scope, sequence and rigor). There are two windows of opportunity for requesting level changes--during course selection in the winter and during the first four weeks of each semester.

2. The change must be initiated within the first four weeks of a given semester.

3. Space must be available in the desired course and any other courses that may need to be changed to accommodate the request.

4. No existing course may be dropped to accommodate a level change after the start of a semester.

5. The grade from the previous course will not travel with the student.

6. The student will be required to make up major assignments. These will be determined by courses and departments so they are consistent among teachers who teach the same courses.

Please note the master school schedule is built based on student requests during winter registration; consequently, any changes beyond that may not be possible due to space availability. Therefore, approved         level changes are not a guarantee of schedule changes when seats are not available to accommodate the change.

Student changes of mind on course preferences (teacher, period, time of day) are not considered for a level change and will not be accommodated.

Any appeals on schedule adjustments should be directed to:

Mr. Drew Eder, Division Chair for Counseling & Student Supports

aeder@d204.lths.net

708-579-6433 

In computing a student’s GPA, the grade point value for each letter grade earned in each course is added together. The sum is then divided by the total number of courses taken per semester. The un-weighted grade point value table is based on a 4-3-2-1-0 scale and is standard among many colleges/universities. The weighted grade point value table has as its norm the 4-3-2-1-0 scale at Level III courses and is adjusted based on rigor for Accelerated and Honors. Grade point values are based on whole grades only. + and - grades are advisory only and do not factor into the GPA.

A student receives both an unweighted and weighted GPA. All semester grades that a student has earned in all courses are used to compute both unweighted and weighted GPA. The exceptions to this are Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) grades (including credit for Driver Education taken at private/commercial/non-approved driver education school); Audit Unsuccessfully completed (AU), Audit Successfully completed (AS), Incomplete (I), and Withdrawal (W).

1. The un-weighted GPA reflects a student’s achievement in courses when compared to all class grade members (9, 10, 11, or 12).
2. The weighted GPA reflects a student’s achievement based on the academic rigor of their courses.

The tables used to determine weighted and unweighted GPA are as follows:

Weighted Grade Point Value Table

Unweighted Grade Point Value Table

Once initial student academic ability level placement is made, a student’s placement may be reviewed periodically to ensure that they are placed at an appropriately challenging level. Academic ability level changes may be made for students seeking a challenge (to a higher level) or for students experiencing exceptional difficulty (to a lower level). District guidelines for academic ability level changes are necessarily restrictive to ensure space is available in classes and that students begin the year in the best possible placement in an appropriate class. Barring significant exceptions, schedule requests are received in late February and schedules are shared with families prior to the start of the given semester. North Campus students who drop a 1st or 8th period class are not eligible for an unscheduled study hall.

1. Adding a Course - A course may be added to a student schedule during the first 10 days of the semester if the following criteria are met:

1. The student has a study hall that can be replaced by a course AND there is available space in the class during the same semester AND same period.

2. Necessary Course Adjustments - Individual courses can be adjusted based on the following criteria:

• An adjustment necessitated by completion or non-completion of summer courses

• An adjustment necessitated by first or second semester failures

• An adjustment necessitated by a student’s Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) supports

• Documented change of college/career plans requiring a different course that cannot be accomplished during the 4-year academic plan, summer or remaining school years prior to graduation. This requires review by the College & Career Coordinator.

3. Requests to drop a class for a Study Hall after the 10th day of a semester are considered by Student Support Teams on a case-by-case basis. 

Lyons Township High School maintains one honor roll that recognizes the academic achievement of its students. The LT honor roll is calculated, awarded and announced at the end of first and second semesters and is based on the entire semester work, including final semester examinations or projects. Honor roll is determined by using the unweighted or weighted grade point value table for grades earned. All grades earned by a student apply toward honor roll determination with the exception of Audit (AS/AU) and Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) courses. Summer School grades do not apply to Honor Rolls.

To qualify for honor roll status, a student:

1. must obtain a grade point average of 3.125 or higher using either the semester weighted or unweighted calculation.

2. cannot receive an F or WF.

3. must be enrolled in at least 4 courses for which they received grades of A, B, C, or D.

4. must be enrolled in at least 5 courses, each of which carries .5 credit. (Students enrolled in courses at TCD, or the Teaching Internship - Elementary 1 & 2 courses may be exempt from 4.)

Students may elect a course on a credit/no credit (CR/NC) basis instead of earning a traditional letter grade (see Board Policies 6:310—Credit for Alternative Courses and Programs, and Course Substitutions; 6:320—High School Credit for Proficiency). (Note: Some colleges may not accept credit/no credit courses which are needed for college entrance.)

1. CR/NC courses are not used in GPA.

2. Only courses designated CR/NC in the Academic Program Guide may be taken as follows:

   • Minimum of five (5) subjects must be carried, exclusive of Physical or Driver Education.

   • Students may enroll in only one course for (CR/NC) per semester or per summer term.

   • All students must submit a completed application within the first 4 weeks of a semester.

   • An annual course may be selected at the start of its second semester for (CR/NC) even though it was not selected first semester, provided all conditions are still met. Students selecting both semesters of an annual course as (CR/NC) must apply for each semester separately.

   • Students taking courses for the (CR/NC) option must earn grades of C- or higher in order to receive credit for these courses.

   • Independent study courses may not be taken as (CR/NC).

Parents/guardians and students have 24-hour online access to student’s grades through Infinite Campus. Infinite Campus provides real-time access to interim progress reports and final semester grades.

Report cards are only available online through your Infinite Campus account. Only semester grades are included on a student’s transcript. Individual class rank is no longer printed on student transcripts, publicly announced, or posted.

For more information on Infinite Campus access, please visit this link.

Lyons Township High School District 204 offers Summer Academic and Activity tuition programs for students in the community. The program is designed to help students make up credits, accelerate their progress, and/or enrich their high school programs.

Information on Summer Academic Programs is available in the Academic Program Guide and on the LTHS website. 

Field trips are planned by classes and other school groups as part of the student’s educational experience. No field trips will take place during the last two weeks of each semester. When a field trip involves only a partial absence, students are to attend all other classes that day which are not affected by the duration of the field trip. The school reserves the right to exclude a student from participating on a field trip. Such a decision would be determined on the basis of the student’s conduct and/or attendance in school. Students are required to ride the bus to and from the field trip.

School lockers are the property of District 204. Lockers are assigned to students prior to the start of the school year. Combinations should not be shared with any other students. Only one (1) student may use a given locker. Lockers are subject to inspection by school authorities to protect the health and welfare of the students, faculty and staff. Additional pad or combination locks will be removed unless permission for an alternate lock is given by administration. Please see Board Policy 7:140 Search and Seizure.

It is the responsibility of each student to thoroughly clean out any and all lockers issued to them. Locker clean out needs to be completed by noon on the last day of second semester finals.

Any school supplies found in lockers after the last day of second semester finals will be disposed of or donated to a charitable organization. Personal items will be collected, tagged, and stored for one week. Items can be claimed through the main office at each campus. 

On December 10, 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) into law. ESSA replaces the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). In accordance with ESSA, school districts who receive Title I funds to support students’ academic success are required to notify families they have the right to request, and receive in a timely manner, information regarding the professional qualifications of the student’s classroom teachers, including, at a minimum, the following:

1. has met State qualification and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction;

2. is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which State qualification or licensing criteria have been waived; and

3. is teaching in the field of discipline of the certification of the teacher.

4. Whether the child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.

In addition to the information stated above, parents of students in schools that receive funds under this part may request:

(I) Information on the level of achievement and academic growth of the student, if applicable and available, on each of the State academic assessments required under this part; and

(II)timely notice that the student has been assigned, or has been taught for 4 or more consecutive weeks by, a teacher who does not meet applicable State certification or licensure requirements at the grade level and subject area in which the teacher has been assigned.

As we begin the 2024-2025 school year, all teachers have met state qualifications and licensing criteria and are teaching in a field for which they are certified. Likewise, all paraprofessionals are qualified to participate in the programs to which they have been assigned. Our staff is committed to helping your child develop the academic knowledge and critical thinking they need to succeed in school and beyond. That commitment includes making sure that all of our teachers and paraprofessionals are highly skilled. If you have any questions about your child’s assignment to a teacher or paraprofessional, please contact:

Mr. Scott Eggerding, Director of Curriculum and Instruction

seggerding@d204.lths.net

 708-579-6470