WVIB Policies
WEST VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
IB ADMISSIONS POLICY
The Hemet Unified School District Governing Board “desires to offer enrollment options in order to provide children with opportunities for academic achievement that meet their diverse needs. Such options shall also be provided to children who reside within another district's boundaries in accordance with law, Board policy, and administrative regulation.
Whenever a student is attending a district school on the Open Enrollment List as identified by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, they may transfer to another school within or outside of the district, as long as the school to which they are transferring has a higher Academic Performance Index.” (Education Code 48354, 48356). Students who express a desire to enroll in the IB DP will be granted a transfer to West Valley High School.
Internal Admissions
West Valley students who are willing to accept the challenge of the IB Diploma Programme begin the admission process during their sophomore year by filling out the IB informational form. Forms turned in during the summer before the junior year will also be accepted. Once the form is received by the IB DP coordinator, an individual meeting is scheduled with the coordinator where the student’s academic progress and college/career goals are discussed. The student’s transcripts, various standardized exams including PSAT, Lexile, and MDTP scores are reviewed. If the student, parents, or coordinator express concern regarding the student’s ability to participate in the Diploma Program, a meeting is arranged with the student, parents, counselor and coordinator to discuss possible interventions and strategies to assist the student in achieving success in the DP.
West Valley full IB DP students will take the following IB core courses including (TOK) Theory of Knowledge, (CAS) Creativity, Activity, Service, and (EE) Extended Essay in eleventh and twelfth grades as well as the required IB subject courses.
West Valley IB certificate students can take a variety of IB subject courses, but the core courses are limited to IB DP students only.
External Admissions
Intradistrict Transfers
Students attending schools within the Hemet Unified School District boundaries and wishing to transfer to West Valley to participate in the IB DP must fill out the IB informational form during their sophomore year or before the start of the junior year and submit it to the DP coordinator. The DPC will schedule an individual meeting with the student and parents. In addition to covering academics and college/career goals, the coordinator will also discuss the intra district process and provide the parents with the appropriate district form and the timeline to receive the intradistrict transfer. A list of the DP candidates will be sent to the district office to assure intradistrict applications are approved.
Interdistrict Transfers
Any student who attends school outside the Hemet Unified School District boundaries and expresses interest in enrolling in West Valley High School to participate in the IB DP can fill out an IB DP informational form available in the WVHS front office or on the school website. Once the form is returned to the DP coordinator, an individual meeting is scheduled with the student and parents. In addition to covering academics and college/career goals, the coordinator will also discuss the interdistrict process and provide the parents with the appropriate district form and the timeline to receive the interdistrict transfer. A list of the DP candidates will be sent to the district office to assure interdistrict applications are approved.
A Policy on Review of the Policy
The WV IB Admissions Policy will be reviewed by the site leadership team, IB DP team and staff annually to incorporate updates from IBO as well as input from WVHS stakeholders. Any revisions of the policy will be submitted to the district Director of Secondary Education who will present the amended policy to the District Cabinet and Hemet Unified School District Governing Board. Once approved, the document will be made available to all stakeholders on-site and at the District Office.
WEST VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
CODE OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Rationale/Statement of Purpose for the Policy
West Valley High School seeks to “provide a firm foundation for life-long success.” Academic Integrity is at the heart of student learning at West Valley High School. All stakeholders bear a responsibility to ensure that our students have the ability and the character to demonstrate their mastery of the IB curriculum in a manner that is professional and principled.
West Valley is committed to promoting the development of all ten learner profiles within its students and staff because “A safe and encouraging learning environment in which students can explore ideas and make visible the development of their own thinking will support academically honest behaviours and help to instill the values and principles that lie behind such behaviours.” (Academic Honesty in the IB Educational Context, p. 1)
WVHS follows the HUSD policy:
“The faculty, students, and administration of West Valley High School support and abide by the principle that absolute integrity is expected of every student in all academic undertakings. Students must in no way misrepresent their work, fraudulently or unfairly advance their academic status, or be a party to another student’s failure to maintain academic integrity.” (HUSD BP 5131.9)
Student Responsibility and Expectations
Students assume responsibility for the content and integrity of the work they submit, such as homework, class work, quizzes, examinations, projects, reports, and research papers. Students should ensure that all submitted work is appropriately and adequately cited and that their work is free from plagiarism and other forms of cheating as outlined in this policy. The IB Learner Profile emphasizes the student’s personal development as a Thinker who is Knowledgeable in the areas of study; therefore, it is imperative that the student takes responsibility for individual academic integrity. Breaches of the academic policy may result in consequences impacting the student’s grade as well as removal from the IB program.
Parent/Guardian Responsibility and Expectations
Parents/guardians are responsible for reviewing and discussing the Code of Academic Integrity with their students. Students and parents are encouraged to communicate with teachers and administration when there are questions regarding upholding the principles to prevent intentional or unwitting academic dishonesty. Before entering the Diploma Programme, parents and students should review the WVHS IB Code of Academic Integrity, the IB Honor Code, and the WVHS Student Handbook before signing the WVHS IB Code of Academic Integrity.
Teacher/Staff/School Responsibility and Expectations
WVHS Diploma Programme teachers are responsible for providing instruction and guidance that will nurture mastery of the course content as well as the ability to document and demonstrate learning. Teachers will provide an academic honesty statement in their course syllabi and will include the ten attributes of the IB Learner Profile in their daily instruction. Teachers will model the highest standard of academic and personal integrity. Teachers will develop personal knowledge of student work enabling them to recognize when submitted work is within the bounds of university level scholarly acceptance.
“To promote the development of conceptual understanding in students, teachers must take responsibility to set meaningful tasks that can be completed either independently or with the appropriate amount of scaffolding. Making the process of inquiry visible should be integral to all teaching and learning in IB programmes. (Academic Honesty in the IB Educational Context, p. 24)
The school is responsible for creating, promoting, and monitoring academic honesty. The school will review its policies and procedures annually to ensure that they are adequate, consistent and fair for all stakeholders. WVHS will ensure that all IB teachers will receive professional development providing them with the tools to educate candidates to experience success and have the confidence to complete their work with integrity and honesty.
The school will provide a safe learning environment that encourages the development of the ten attributes of the IB Learner Profile. The school will educate the candidates regarding the rules and expectations for IB exams. The school will communicate with parents and candidates and will provide all relevant policies and documents through its website.
Proper use of referencing will be taught at every grade level and in all IB courses. Teachers will use Turnitin to monitor student work. Students will receive instruction on proper citation and referencing using MLA. Some courses also instruct students on the use of APA style.
Scenarios/Examples of Academic Misconduct
West Valley High School IB Diploma Candidates are expected to maintain the highest standard of academic and personal integrity. Intentional and unintentional breaches of this Code will result in consequences ranging loss of grade to dismissal from the IB programme.
The IB Organization defines academic misconduct as “behaviour (whether deliberate or inadvertent) that results in, or may result in, the candidate or any other candidate gaining an unfair advantage in one or more components of assessment.” (Academic Honesty - Principles to Practice, p. 4)
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Plagiarism |
This is defined as the representation, intentionally or unwittingly, of the ideas, words or work of another person without proper, clear and explicit acknowledgment. (for example, copying, paraphrasing, reusing or submitting another’s work without acknowledging the source, including information from the Internet) |
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Collusion |
This is defined as supporting academic misconduct by another student, for example, allowing one’s work to be copied or submitted for assessment or submission by another. |
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Duplication of work |
This is defined as the presentation of the same work for different assessment components and/or DP core requirements. |
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Examination Misconduct |
This is defined as misconduct during an IB examination (for example, taking unauthorized material into an examination, behavior that disrupts the examination or distracts other students, copying another’s test answers, obtaining exam materials/questions prior to the exam, or communicating with another student). |
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Falsifying Records |
This is defined as falsifying any application, document or report including CAS records or paying/receiving financial gain for the completion of another’s work. This could also include altering grades or changing answers after work has been graded. |
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Unfair Advantage |
This is defined as any other behavior that gains an unfair advantage for a student or that affects the results of another student (such as receiving or giving of any unauthorized assistance on any form of) |
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Disclosure of Information |
This is defined as disclosure of information to and receipt of information from students about the content of an examination paper within 24 hours after a written examination via any form of communication/media). |
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(Source: Academic Honesty - Principles to Practice, October 2014 and City Honors Academic Honesty Policy, 2018) |
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Procedures - Reporting, Recording, Monitoring
Academic misconduct is reported by the teacher to the assistant principal and counselor. The teacher will complete a referral in Aeries describing the incident and provide a copy of the suspected misconduct. After investigation of the situation, if misconduct is confirmed, the parent/guardian will be informed, the incident will be documented in the counseling screen of the student’s record and the appropriate discipline will be assigned per district guidelines. The IB DP Coordinator will monitor the student as warranted in conjunction with administration and the IB instructor.
The teacher will inform the IB Coordinator if the student is suspected of misconduct on an IB assessment. The DPC will submit the appropriate forms to IBO and provide any additional information requested by IBO. All involved parties will be communicated with to assure all submitted information is accurate.
The Rights of the Student, if Suspected of a Breach of Academic Honesty
The student and parent/guardian will be provided a copy of the General Regulations Diploma Programme. If a student is suspected of academic misconduct, the school will inform the parent/guardian and the student of the alleged misconduct and the procedure for investigation. “The candidates and his or her legal guardians have the right to see evidence, statements, reports and correspondence about the case” (Academic honesty, p. 15) The student may choose to submit a written defense and must be given time to do so.
Consequences of Academic Misconduct
The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) has outlined the penalties imposed on a candidate found guilty of misconduct during an assessment. These are stated in section 12 of Academic honesty. The penalties that the IBO can impose are listed below:
- No score being awarded for the subject
- Zero marks will be awarded for the assessment component concerned, but the candidate will still be eligible for a grade in the subject concerned.
- Or no penalty if there is no discernible evidence of malpractice
The IB Honor Code is more severe than the WVHS school wide policy in order to prepare WVIB students for the severity of the collegiate response to misconduct. Academic misconduct includes the following: plagiarism, collusion, duplication of work, and any other behavior that gains an unfair advantage for a candidate. Offenses are accumulated over all subject areas for the two years of each program. The very foundation of IB rests upon the legitimate personal learning of each IB student. The consequences are outlined below:
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First Offense |
● The student will lose credit for the assignment/test/project and no make-up for the loss of credit will be permitted. ● A discipline referral will be made and entered into the discipline file. ● A parent/teacher conference will be held. ● The final course grade will be negatively affected. |
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Second Offense |
● The student will lose credit for the assignment/test/project and no make-up for the loss of credit will be permitted ● A discipline referral will be made and entered into the discipline file ● A Parent/teacher conference will be held. ● An WVIB Behavior Contract will be issued for the student including a warning that additional offenses will result in removal from the IB DP. ● The final course grade will be negatively affected. |
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Third Offense |
● The student will lose credit for the assignment/test/project and no make-up for the loss of credit will be permitted. ● A discipline referral will be made and entered into the discipline file ● A Parent/teacher conference will be held. ● The final course grade will be negatively affected. ● The student will be removed from the full Diploma Programme. |
A Policy on Review of the Policy
The WV IB Academic Policy will be reviewed by the site leadership team and the IB DP team annually to incorporate updates from IBO as well as input from WVHS stakeholders. Any revisions of the policy will be submitted to the district Director of Secondary Education and made available to all stakeholders.
Purpose of Inclusion/Special Education Needs Policy:
“Inclusion is an ongoing process that aims to increase access and engagement in learning for all students by identifying and removing barriers.” (IB Conference of the Americas, 2014). The purpose of this policy is to ensure that West Valley acknowledges individual learning differences and all of its students are guaranteed equal access to the IB Diploma Programme.
West Valley High School Vision Statement:
West Valley High School is a comprehensive, standards-based school where inquiry, reflection, and writing expectations lead our students to become knowledgeable about academics and the world around them. Our vision is that all students will be open-minded and able to clearly articulate their knowledge through various modes of communication, and that a balanced experience all in all areas of education-academics, activities, and athletics-will provide a firm foundation for lifelong success.
Purpose of Inclusion/Special Education Needs Policy:
“Inclusion is an ongoing process that aims to increase access and engagement in learning for all students by identifying and removing barriers.” (IB Conference of the Americas, 2014). The purpose of this policy is to ensure that West Valley acknowledges individual learning differences and all of its students are guaranteed equal access to the IB Diploma Programme.
West Valley High School Vision Statement:
West Valley High School is a comprehensive, standards-based school where inquiry, reflection, and writing expectations lead our students to become knowledgeable about academics and the world around them. Our vision is that all students will be open-minded and able to clearly articulate their knowledge through various modes of communication, and that a balanced experience all in all areas of education-academics, activities, and athletics-will provide a firm foundation for lifelong success.
Individualized Educational Plan (IEP): The Individualized Education Program, IEP, is a document developed to provide a student with an identified disability access to all school curriculum utilizing appropriate accommodations and modifications.
Section 504: The 504 plan ensures a student with a disability identified under the law receives accommodations that will provide access to the learning environment and academic success.
Staff: An extensive support system exists for all special needs students at West Valley. One assistant principal oversees the Special Education department and another supervises the 504 Coordinator. The site currently has one full and part time nurse tech, one full time and one school psychologist, a full time speech pathologist, two full time marriage and family therapists, a full time PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) support person, an ATS teacher, an adaptive physical education teacher one period per day, six sheltered education/functional skills teachers, nine resource teachers, twenty-six special education instructional aides and eight one-to-one aides all of whom service our students with special needs.
Staff development and teaching credential curriculum have provided all teachers with inclusion policies and strategies. General education teachers participate in annual IEP and 504 meetings as required by the Education Code. Updated plans are sent to each of the student’s teachers to assure any revised accommodations or modifications will be implemented in the classroom. Case carriers and counselors are responsible for communicating with the IB DPC if special accommodations are needed for the administration of IB assessments.
Parents/Guardians: Parents/Guardians work with administration, counselors, the DPC, Special Education Coordinator, their child’s case carrier and IB instructor to understand the curriculum and procedures of the classroom to better reinforce learning at home. They attend parent/teacher conferences and are active participants in their student’s IEP or 504 meetings.
IB Assessments
Students with an IEP or 504 will be assessed according to their plan accommodations and modifications. If no assessment modifications exist on the IEP or 504, the student will be assessed as prescribed by the IBO. The special education case carrier or counselor will inform the IB DPC of any special assessment arrangements needed for the student. The coordinator will then complete the required forms to allow the student the required accommodations on the formal IB DP assessment.
The WV IB Inclusion/Special Education Needs Policy will be reviewed by the site leadership team, IB DP team, counseling team, special education department and staff annually to incorporate updates from IBO as well as input from WVHS stakeholders. Any revisions of the policy will be submitted to the district Director of Secondary Education who will present the amended policy to the District Cabinet and Hemet Unified School District Governing Board. Once approved, the document will be made available to all stakeholders on-site and at the District Office.
WEST VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
IB ADMISSIONS POLICY
The Hemet Unified School District Governing Board “desires to offer enrollment options in order to provide children with opportunities for academic achievement that meet their diverse needs. Such options shall also be provided to children who reside within another district's boundaries in accordance with law, Board policy, and administrative regulation.
Whenever a student is attending a district school on the Open Enrollment List as identified by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, they may transfer to another school within or outside of the district, as long as the school to which they are transferring has a higher Academic Performance Index.” (Education Code 48354, 48356). Students who express a desire to enroll in the IB DP will be granted a transfer to West Valley High School.
Internal Admissions
West Valley students who are willing to accept the challenge of the IB Diploma Programme begin the admission process during their sophomore year by filling out the IB informational form. Forms turned in during the summer before the junior year will also be accepted. Once the form is received by the IB DP coordinator, an individual meeting is scheduled with the coordinator where the student’s academic progress and college/career goals are discussed. The student’s transcripts, various standardized exams including PSAT, Lexile, and MDTP scores are reviewed. If the student, parents, or coordinator express concern regarding the student’s ability to participate in the Diploma Program, a meeting is arranged with the student, parents, counselor and coordinator to discuss possible interventions and strategies to assist the student in achieving success in the DP.
West Valley full IB DP students will take the following IB core courses including (TOK) Theory of Knowledge, (CAS) Creativity, Activity, Service, and (EE) Extended Essay in eleventh and twelfth grades as well as the required IB subject courses.
West Valley IB certificate students can take a variety of IB subject courses, but the core courses are limited to IB DP students only.
External Admissions
Intradistrict Transfers
Students attending schools within the Hemet Unified School District boundaries and wishing to transfer to West Valley to participate in the IB DP must fill out the IB informational form during their sophomore year or before the start of the junior year and submit it to the DP coordinator. The DPC will schedule an individual meeting with the student and parents. In addition to covering academics and college/career goals, the coordinator will also discuss the intra district process and provide the parents with the appropriate district form and the timeline to receive the intradistrict transfer. A list of the DP candidates will be sent to the district office to assure intradistrict applications are approved.
Interdistrict Transfers
Any student who attends school outside the Hemet Unified School District boundaries and expresses interest in enrolling in West Valley High School to participate in the IB DP can fill out an IB DP informational form available in the WVHS front office or on the school website. Once the form is returned to the DP coordinator, an individual meeting is scheduled with the student and parents. In addition to covering academics and college/career goals, the coordinator will also discuss the interdistrict process and provide the parents with the appropriate district form and the timeline to receive the interdistrict transfer. A list of the DP candidates will be sent to the district office to assure interdistrict applications are approved.
A Policy on Review of the Policy
The WV IB Admissions Policy will be reviewed by the site leadership team, IB DP team and staff annually to incorporate updates from IBO as well as input from WVHS stakeholders. Any revisions of the policy will be submitted to the district Director of Secondary Education who will present the amended policy to the District Cabinet and Hemet Unified School District Governing Board. Once approved, the document will be made available to all stakeholders on-site and at the District Office.