Procedure JFCL-AP(1): A+ Schools Program

The School of the Osage will follow the requirements established by state law and regulations for the administration of the A+ Schools Program. The district's A+ Schools Program coordinator is:

Coordinator of Community Partnerships/A+

1501 School Road, Lake Ozark, MO 65049-1960

Phone: 573-365-4091 / Fax: 573-365-5748

A+ Schools Partnership Plan

The coordinator shall organize a local advisory committee to develop a partnership plan to be approved by the Board. The advisory committee shall include local businesspersons, labor leaders, teachers, senior citizens, college and postsecondary career/technical school representatives, representatives of nonpublic schools that are located in the district and participate in the A+ Schools Program, and parents/guardians. The partnership plan shall specify a mechanism to receive information on an annual basis from the plan developers and community leaders to update the plan in order to best meet the goals of the A+ Schools Program.

The plan shall:

1. Detail the procedures used to identify students who might drop out of school and the intervention services to be used to meet the needs of such students.

2. Outline counseling and mentoring services provided to students who will enter the workforce upon graduation from high school.

3. Contain procedures for the recruitment of community volunteers to serve in schools receiving program grants.

4. Address internship and apprenticeship programs.

Under the guidance of the coordinator, the advisory committee shall evaluate, review and update the partnership plan annually.

Eligibility

To be eligible, a student must:

1. Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the United States.

2. Attend a designated A+ high school for two years prior to graduation. Enrollment during the two years in which the student was in attendance at an A+ designated high school must total a minimum of 80 percent of the instructional days required by the high school from which the student graduates. Interruptions in enrollment cumulatively totaling no more than 20 percent of instructional days in the two years in which the student was attending an A+ high school may occur consecutively or intermittently.

A student who is an active duty military dependent or a dependent of retired military personnel who relocate to Missouri within one year of the date of retirement from active duty is excused from the requirement to attend a designated A+ high school for two years prior to graduation if the student attends a designated A+ school in the school year immediately preceding graduation and has met all other eligibility requirements.

3. Graduate from a designated A+ high school with an overall grade point average of 2.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale or the equivalent on another scale.

4. Have at least a 95 percent attendance record overall for grades 9–12. Any student appropriately counted for average daily attendance will be considered as in attendance, whether physically present or not.

5. Perform 50 hours of unpaid tutoring or mentoring, of which up to 25 percent may include job shadowing, prior to high school graduation. However, the district may make an exception and extend the time for completing this requirement on a case-by-case basis when there are circumstances beyond the student's control that prevent the student from completing this requirement. The length of the extension will be determined by the district but will not exceed six months beyond high school graduation.

6. Maintain a record of good citizenship and avoid the unlawful use of alcohol and drugs, as defined by district policy, while in grades 9–12.

7. Achieve a score of proficient or advanced on the official Algebra I end-of-course exam or a higher-level, DESE-approved, end-of-course exam in the field of mathematics, or meet other criteria established by the Coordinating Board for Higher Education, unless the district has met all of the DESE requirements for a waiver of the Algebra I end-of-course exam for the recipient.

8. Prior to graduation, enter into a written agreement with the district to participate in the A+ Schools Program.

9. Meet any additional eligibility requirement set out in state law.

Appeals

If the coordinator determines that a student who has submitted a participation agreement has violated the terms of that agreement or district policies or procedures regarding A+ participation, the coordinator will notify the student in writing. The notice will include a statement of which condition was violated and the facts constituting the violation. The student will be provided copies of documents or other evidence supporting the determination. The coordinator may put the student on probation or expel the student from the A+ Schools Program.

The student may appeal an expulsion from the program to the Board of Education, or a committee created by the Board, by notifying the coordinator within five working days of receiving the notice. The coordinator will provide notice of the appeal to the Board along with a copy of the reason for the expulsion. The Board or the Board's committee will hear the student's appeal in closed session within 20 working days of receiving the notice of appeal. The Board will notify the student of its decision in writing within five working days of hearing the appeal.

Receipt of Funds

In order to receive A+ financial assistance, an eligible student must:

1. Make a good-faith effort to secure all sources of federal funding that could be applied to tuition reimbursement.

2. Be admitted and enrolled at a participating institution on a full-time basis in accordance with law unless the student is enrolled in all the available hours applicable to the student's program of study in a given term, the student is participating in a required internship, or the student is enrolled in prerequisite courses that do not require full-time enrollment.

3. Not be enrolled in or intend to use the award to enroll in a course of study leading to a degree in theology or divinity.

4. Not have a criminal record preventing receipt of federal Title IV student financial aid.

5. Meet the institution's definition of satisfactory academic progress as determined by the institution's policies and law.

6. Meet the course completion standards as required by law.

Note: The reader is encouraged to review policies and/or forms for related information in this administrative area.

5 C.S.R.20-100.200

6 C.S.R.10-2.190

IGBD: At-Risk Students

§ 160.545, RSMo