14. How many courses do I have to take, how many courses should I take, and how many courses can I take?

Students are expected to take and pass a minimum of 6 full credits per year.  Successfully doing this for four years will give students the 24 credits they need for graduation.  A student entering Oxford High School with pre-existing credits may take fewer courses and still amass the credits needed to graduate, however, all students in the freshman and sophomore years are expected to be enrolled in six courses.  Juniors and seniors will have more credit carrying flexibility depending on their learning program and goals.  Based on this, the following guidelines should be adhered to:

Minimum Course Load Required: 4 courses per semester - not recommended - this is the minimum number of courses that must be passed to earn eligibility for athletics and is the lowest expectation. Taking and passing only 4 or 5 courses in a semester will lead to a graduation credit deficit (24 needed to graduate) and means that course credits will have to be earned elsewhere for a student to have enough credits to graduate.

Recommended Course Load for Most Students:  6 classes per semester. This is the recommended load putting students on a graduation pathway and leaving them with one free period on most scheduled days.

Maximum Course Load Possible:  7 classes per semester.  This is an extremely challenging workload and should only be undertaken with caution and support from parents, guidance counselors, and the high school administration.  Students carrying 7 classes must be extraordinarily organized and prepared to do all homework outside of the school day as there will be no free periods within the school day.

 

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15. Will Oxford High School be accredited?

Of course! The purpose of accreditation is to ensure excellence in education by holding schools accountable to both Connecticut’s standards and the standards of our regional accreditation agency, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) www.neasc.org . Oxford High School will receive an initial accreditation during the 2007-2008 school year from the NEASC and then will apply for permanent accreditation within our first five years of existence. 

Oxford district and high school administration will be working along side the NEASC to bring our school through both the initial and permanent accreditation processes and we have already begun discussing Oxford High School with them. The high school will be considered "initially accredited" while working through the multi-year permanent accreditation process which is typical when opening a new school.  Parents can be assured that all students graduating from Oxford High School and applying for college admission in 2010 will be doing so from an accredited high school institution.

Click here to see the letter from the NEASC Executive Director that explains this process.

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18. How many different levels of difficulty will courses be offered in?

Courses at Oxford High School are offered at three levels of difficulty and expectations.  Courses listed as Academic are meant for students who favor a more generalized content and skill preparation.  Students who take academic courses may be planning on attending college, immediate post-high school employment, the armed forces, or some other choice. 

Courses that are marked Honors are designed for students who are interested in challenging content, have a demonstrated record of academic success, are comfortable with demanding home-work loads, and who are on a definite college-preparatory pathway.  Honors courses feature rigorous content, deep conceptual thinking, more extensive writing expectations and are excellent choices for college bound students or for others who want to build these critical skills.  Additionally, Honors courses have a weighted average of 1.1 (see the section of the Course of Study entitled, Grading, Weighting and Class Rank) which is figured when deciding a student’s class rank at the end of the year. 

Courses in the International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP) programs are extremely rigorous and have separate, year-end assessments that are associated with them.  AP/IB courses are designed for students who are interested in the most difficult high school content, have a demonstrated record of academic success, extraordinary work habits and self-discipline, and who are on a definite college-preparatory pathway.  While entrance into AP/IB courses is open to all, success is dependent on a demonstrated commitment to the type of extremely rigorous academic skills and effort needed for the completion of these programs.

Regardless of the course type, the mission of Oxford High School is to prepare all students for success with courses that are challenging and appropriate for their needs and interests.

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19. What is the status of the IB Program?

The International Baccalaureate Program curriculum framework consists of five essential elements: concepts, knowledge, skills, attitude, action. The knowledge component is developed through inquiries into six trans-disciplinary themes of global significance, supported and balanced by six subject areas.  We are currently pursuing funding for the IB program so that it may get underway when our first junior class is ready to begin IB study in 2008-2009.  Because IB is generally taken in the junior and senior year, there will be no official IB courses offered in the 2007-2008 school year.  If you want to learn more, click on the IB button on the curriculum page of this web page and then visit the official website for the IB program.

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20. Will students have opportunities to have off-campus internships or a work-study program?

In the junior and senior year, students at Oxford High School will have the opportunity, through two different work-skill courses, to arrange off-campus work arrangements that help them earn high school credit as well as wages.  These courses are currently in development and will be added to the Course of Study in 2008-2009.

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21. Will Oxford High School be providing Special Education services?

As a comprehensive public high school, Oxford High School is committed to providing students with the services and support they need to be successful.  When the school opens in 2007, there will be a fully certified special education staff who will be able to provide these services in a manner that is consistent with our school's mission and expectations as well as all existing special education laws and regulations. 

Check back at this web page the late winter and early spring.  As soon as our special education staff is named, we will list their names and contact information here.  If you need information sooner, feel free to contact the district's Special Education Director at the Great Hill Road office.

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22. What is a Mentor Home Room?

At Oxford High School, every student will be assigned a Mentor Home Room upon entering our program.  This is more than a traditional home room.  The teacher in a student’s Mentor Home Room is that student’s faculty advocate for their entire time at our school.  The Mentor will work with their students through all four years of their high school program to ensure that their experience is positive, that their learning program is effective, and that their Senior Project is successfully planned and implemented.

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23. What are the Physical Education and Health requirements?

Three credits in health and physical education, one full credit of which must be taken as part of a regularly scheduled class from the Health and Physical Education Curriculum. Participation in two seasons of recognized interscholastic sports during the course of one academic year is equal to one half credit of physical education, so a student may earn the final two credits by participating in the equivalent of eight seasons of interscholastic sports.  There are no quarter credits, so an athlete who participates in just one season of interscholastic sports during an academic year is not eligible for any physical education credits.  Any entering junior who has less than two credits in Health and Physical Education or entering senior who has less than three credits must be enrolled in a regularly scheduled Health and/or Physical Education course to ensure that he/she will meet the minimum requirements in this credit area.

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25. Does Oxford High School have an Honor Roll?

At the end of each quarter when grades are decided, the Oxford High School Honor Roll will be announced.  Students with weighted academic averages between 85 and 93.99 with no grade below 80 will be considered on the Honor Roll.  Students with a weighted average of 94 and above with no grade below 80 will be considered on the High Honor Roll. 

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27. Can students drive to school?

While this is somewhat dependent on availability of parking spaces and eligibility of student drivers, there eventually will be provisions that allow for students to drive to school and park their cars.  Of course, all students who want to will be able to take a district provided bus to Oxford High School.

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31. Will I be given a class rank at Oxford High School and how will grades work?

In accordance with the Connecticut General Statutes P.A. 81 (regarding the Weighted Grading for Honors Classes), schools are required to establish and adopt a policy on whether grades in their honors and advanced placement course should be weighted when determining class rank and grade point average.  At Oxford High School, for the purpose of determining a student’s relative place to his/her peers, courses are weighted according to the work level and difficulty of those classes.

For “rank in class” purposes only, at the end of each course, AP/IB designated courses will be multiplied by 1.2 points and Honors designated courses will be multiplied by 1.1.  These adjusted averages will be used to determine a student’s class rank. 

At the end of each year, Oxford High School will report to students and parents their position in the overall class ranking by identifying which decile they are in as a result of this process (decile reporting means that students will be placed in the “Top 10%, Top 20%, Top 30%, etc.) and also which decile they are in if no weights were to be given to course averages.  This process is used to provide all students with two ways of seeing their class rank without creating a situation where students are forced to compete with specific individuals for a spot in the class order. 

By providing an adjusted rank that shows the impact of the weighting process and an unadjusted rank based on the un-weighted averages allows students and their families the opportunity to understand the impact of taking the most challenging classes.  Both rankings are provided to outside agencies when reporting on the position of a student for placement purposes.  Decile reporting is a common practice and all colleges and universities accept this as an informative reflection of a student’s position in their class.  The only exception to this rule will be the top 5 weighted averages in each class will be privately informed of their position so that considerations regarding graduation Valedictorian and Salutatorian may be taken into account by the impacted students and their families.

All course grades are given on a 100 point, A – F scale with plus and minus for ranges within the grade.  100-90 = A; this indicates excellent work and the successful attainment of the highest expectations for both the course and student.  89-80 = B; this indicates above average quality work and consistently successful attainment of the courses basic expectations.  79-70 = C; this indicates average work and the successful attainment of the courses basic expectations.  69-60 = D; this indicates below average work and the lowest passing grade.  Work in this area is inconsistent and in need of improvement.  59 or lower = F; this indicates a failure to meet the expectations of the course and credit will not be issued for the class in question.

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32. What is the attendance policy at Oxford High School?

Consistent with the philosophy of the Board of Education, the staff at Oxford High School believes that it is critical for students to be in school.  So much of what students learn occurs as a result of interactions with peers and teachers that to miss that dimension of one’s education is detrimental to the learning experience.  As such, if a student experiences more than 10 unexcused absences from school during any one semester, he/she will be endangered of losing the credit for the enrolled classes.  Students with 10 or more absences in any one semester will be required to attend a truancy hearing in which this credit decision will be made by the administration.  Regardless of the reason, students are responsible for missed work during their absence.  Teachers may not give credit for work that is not completed nor will they accept absence from school as an excuse for not completing assigned work.

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35. The story about the theft of the copper from the Oxford High School building site has received a lot of publicity - how bad was it and will it have any long-term impact on the schedule or budget for the project?

As it has been reported, over the New Year's holiday, thieves did enter the project site and removed roughly $2,000 worth of copper from the premises.  Unfortunately, the high cost of copper on the global market has made large scale construction projects like Oxford High School a target for this kind of crime.  While this event is certainly regrettable and disappointing, the damage done was minor relative to the size of the project and it will in no way impact the overall schedule or budget of the construction project.  The responsibility for the cost and loss caused by this event is with the trade contractor and their insurance carrier.  O & G, the project's general contractor and the party responsible for management of the building site, has assured the town and the Board of Education that it has taken additional security precautions to prevent this kind of event from happening again.  Anyone with information regarding the theft of the copper from the site is urged to contact the Oxford Police Department.

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 36. How can a parent or student initiate a club or activity on campus?

We are committed to supporting as many legitimate clubs and activities as there is interest to support in our community.  If a group of students has an interest and believes it has enough support to keep a club or group viable, we will work to find a location and supervision to make it happen.  In order to determine a group's viability, we ask that the students, working with an adult, fill out the Activity Request Form (go to General Information and then click on Activities and then the Activity Request Form button) and then submit it to the high school administration.  Once we have received the form, we will review it and work to get the activity up and running.  Cost, content, and sustainability will all be factored into a decision to run or not to run the requested activity.

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37. Where can I find copies of the Student, Parent, and Athletic Handbooks?

Check out the General Information and Athletic pages for links to these documents.

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39. What happens if I need a course that I don't see offered on the web site or in the Course of Study?

Most students will find the courses they need for their own interests and goals in the Course of Study for next year.  In cases where parents/students feel that this is not true, we will work with those students to ensure that, to the best of our ability, their needs are met.  If you feel that you are in this category, please call the Principal of Oxford High School, Mr. Samuelson at the high school at (203) 888-2468 to discuss your concerns.  You may also email Mr. Samuelson at samuelsonf@oxfordpublicschools.org

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45. What is the process for developing the budget for the high school and the Oxford Public Schools?

                                            
• Fiscal Year: Begins July 1; ends June 30

• Beginning of November: Board of Education begins budget process for upcoming fiscal year.

• Beginning of February: Town Departments begin budget process for upcoming fiscal year.

• Beginning of March: Proposed budgets for Town Departments are submitted to Board of Selectmen (BOS) for Review. BOS meet with department heads to discuss their budget. Once the reviews are
completed, BOS make increases or decreases various line items of a town department. The budget is then sent to the Board of Finance (BOF) – 6 elected officials.
At this time, the BOS can recommend a budget increase or decrease for the BOE. The BOS does not have the power to increase or decrease the BOE budget on its own.

• March and April The Board of Finance, during these two months, will meet with Town Department Managers as well as the BOE to review and discuss the various budgets. Once all budgets, have been
reviewed, adjustments, if necessary, are made to town department budgets (increases or decreases) as well as the BOE. Based on these adjustments, as well as a review of expected revenue, the BOF votes to recommend the Town Budget with a projected mil rate that will be sent to the Citizens for a public hearing.

• May Once the BOF has finished their review, a notice is posted for a Public Hearing to discuss
the Town Budget. At this hearing, citizens are permitted to make comments about the various department budgets. After this meeting, the BOF can make adjustments either, increasing, decreasing or making no change to various department budgets.

• May A public notice is posted for the Annual Budget Meeting for the BOF to:

Recommend its proposed budget, Amend, and move to referendum the vote for the Town Budget. This meeting shall be held no later than the third Monday of May in each year.

Members of the Town Meeting shall be: electors of the Town or any citizen of the age of eighteen (18) years or more who, jointly or severally, is liable to the Town for taxes assessed against him on an assessment of not less that one thousand dollars $1,000) on the last completed Grand List of the Town.

At this meeting, NO INCREASES IN A PARTICULAR BUDGET LINE ITEM CAN OCCUR – ONLY ADDITIONAL LINE ITEM DECREASES CAN OCCUR. The date is then set for vote on the Town Budget. Once the date has been set, absentee ballots are then available. Absentee ballots can be obtained from the Town Clerk’s office located at Oxford Town Hall.

Notice for the Town budget vote is posted in various newspapers. Voting will occur on the posted date at Quaker Farms School from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. (The referendum must be held “not less than seven (7) or more than twenty-two (22) days” after the Town Meeting. If the budget is rejected, the Annual Budget Town Meeting and referendum will occur in fourteen-day intervals until the budget is approved.

 

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