Davis School for Independent Study 2011-2012

Welcome!

I am looking forward to working with you this year as we strive to meet your academic goals.  At DSIS you will experience great personal and academic freedom, but you will also need to manage your time well and practice self-discipline.  Some students are tempted to put off doing their work until the last minute, but they soon find that this approach leads to substandard work quality and a very stressful week. 

You should expect to spend, 5 hours a week on coursework for each subject, for a total of at least 20 hours of time spent on schoolwork.  To succeed at DSIS you will need to manage your time well in order to do your best work.  Life at DSIS requires self-discipline and self-motivation, but the payoff is a school experience that meets your personal needs.

Absence and Late Policy

Due to strict state laws governing independent study schools, there are no excused absences.  If you are ill and unable to make your scheduled appointment, a parent or guardian must call me in advance to cancel (757-5333 ext. 160).  Due to the tightness of my schedule, I will most likely be unable to reschedule your appointment.  Since you have had a full week to finish your work (and it is rare to be sick for seven straight days), I will assume the majority of your work is already done.

 When absent, it is your responsibility to make arrangements to have your work delivered to the drop-off basket in my office by the end of the day of your appointment, and to pick up your new assignment sheet from your mailbox.  The new assignment will be due the following week, regardless of your absence. 

Your work is due at the beginning of your appointment time because the hour we have together is not meant to be used to finish up assignments.  Late work will only be accepted for credit and grading for one week past its due date, and will be subject to one full grade deduction. 

Since a significant portion of your academic instruction occurs during our weekly visits it is extremely important that you schedule appointments and vacations at times which do not interfere with our scheduled meeting time.  Problems with missed appointments and/or unfinished work may result in being placed on academic probation.  If the problem continues, you can be dismissed from DSIS.

Some Additional Requirements

 If you want credit for completing your work, your assignments must be typed or written clearly and you will need to write your full name, subject, chapter/lesson number, and page number on each assignment. 

All essays need a handwritten first draft or outline.  Since the high school exit exam has a written essay, it is to your benefit to refine the skill of using a pencil to put thoughts down on paper before you turn on your computer.

Anyone who writes for a living will tell you that the only way to become a good writer is to write, write, and write!  With this in mind, I will be expecting considerable writing this year in the form of weekly journal entries, question answering, and essays.  I will do my best to have your edited essay returned to you at our next meeting time (there will be a benchmark grade to give you some idea of the quality of your essay).  You will need to edit, revise, and rewrite the essay during the next week.  You will receive a final grade once it is rewritten. 

For any research you will be doing, I am going to require In-Text Documentation for quoting and citing sources (we will be going over this).  This will help you to establish quality-writing habits, and it will help us to avoid plagiarism.  It is very important that your work be in your own words and that you do not copy material.  You are encouraged to quote from resources as long as you cite them.

Grading Policy

A+ (100%, 4.33), A (94-99%), A- (90-93%)

-You clearly spent an appropriate amount of time studying the material

-You completed all the required aspects of the assignment

-Your work was neatly written or typed, with correct spelling

-You exhibited thoughtful and thorough reflection on the subject matter

B+ (87-89%), B (83-86%), B- (80-82%)

-You spent a minimum of the appropriate amount of time studying the material

-You completed most of the required aspects of the assignment

-Your work was less neatly written with some spelling errors

-You exhibited less thoughtful and thorough reflection on the subject matter

C+ (76-79%), C (72-75%), C- (68-71%)

-You spent less than the required amount of time studying the material.

-You did not complete some aspects of the assignment

-Your work was not neatly written and had many spelling errors

-Inadequate reflection on the subject matter is evident

D+ (65-67%), D (61-64%), D- (57-60%), F (56% or less)

-Your work reflects spending too little time on the assignment

-You did not complete a majority of the assignment

-You work had many spelling errors

Please feel free to call or e-mail me with any questions or problems at: 757-5333 ext. 160 or email: ljuanitas@djusd.net.   

I fully expect that we will have a great year!

Laura Juanitas