High School (Grades 9-12)
Education For Excellence
It is very important to note that our modified independent study program is not an easier way to accomplish high school; it is a different way.
While "Education for Excellence" is the motto for our entire school program, it is something that we emphasize with Oak Meadow High School students. We believe that excellence involves more than just mastery of a specific set of data and the ability to regurgitate that information on examinations. Students need the intellectual clarity of academic pursuits, but they need that pursuit to occur, we believe, within a framework that also encourages the heart of an artist and the strength of a leader. To this end, Oak Meadow High School focuses on integrative thinking, in which pieces of information and data are pulled together so that they become meaningful. We ask our students to do more than “know the facts”; we ask them to do something with the facts, to arrive at conclusions and opinions, to think and to write critically and analytically, to interpret and synthesize. We also encourage our students to enjoy a wide range of activities in their high school years, to seek out their areas of particular interest and excitement and to get involved in them. This may involve athletics, acting, working, apprenticing, artistic endeavors, community service or involvement, and more.
Oak Meadow High School is a college preparatory program. Every student may not choose to pursue a four year college or university degree, but every student will be prepared to do that. The course of study is rigorous and demanding, involving a significant commitment on the part of the student for the time he or she spends in our program. It is very important to note that our modified independent study program is not an easier way to accomplish high school; it is a different way. Our graduates tell us that their experience in Oak Meadow School was profoundly meaningful, preparing them for the rigors of college/university study, for the demands of the work world, for, in general, the living of a satisfying life.
Credits and Graduation Requirements
Oak
Meadow School assigns one (1) unit of credit for each full year of
academic course work, or five-tenths (0.5) of a credit for a semester
of successful academic course work. When a particular course is taken
as “Honors,” that designation will be clear on the student’s
transcript. A total of twenty (20) units of academic credit is required
for graduation from Oak Meadow High School. This means that an average
of five full courses must be successfully completed each year of the
four years of high school. Of the twenty units required for graduation,
twelve and a half (12 1/2) units are in required courses. That means
that the student must complete seven and a half (7 1/2) units of
electives, and two years of physical education are also required by
California state law (Oak Meadow does not give academic credit for
P.E.; it is checked off as “pass” on the high school transcript).
Required High School Courses
The student must complete these courses to graduate from high school: English 9, English 10, American literature, World literature, World history, American history, U.S. government, Psychology (a one semester course), two years of science, two years of mathematics (one of which must be Algebra I), and one course in Fine Arts. In addition, the student should know that the state of California requires that a one semester Health course be taken for graduation. This can be fulfilled by taking the Anatomy, Physiology and Health course as one of the two required science courses. See the “Course Recommendations” for a suggestion as to when these courses might be taken.
Physical Education
As noted above, California high school students are required to have two years of P.E. in order to graduate. Oak Meadow High School does not give academic credit for P.E.; it is treated as a check off on the transcript as “pass.”
For the past three academic years Oak Meadow High School has offered a martial arts class which fulfills the P.E. requirement for the academic year in which it is taken. The class meets twice a week.
Physical education credit may
also be picked up in some way in the community. Students can sign up
for karate, swimming, certain dance classes, etc., or they can get a
membership at a local gym and do weight training or aerobic work. It is
even possible for the student to do a parent-supervised P.E. program at
home, where a log is kept of the physical activity. Three hour-long
exercise periods a week for the thirty-six weeks of the school year
qualify as fulfilling this requirement. To receive credit for P.E., the
parent must certify that the student has completed the activity, and
must submit an Application for Independent Study Credit once each
semester, along with the contemporaneous log.
Electives
The student must accumulate seven and one half (7 1/2) units of academic credit, in one or more of the following forms:
1. Oak Meadow High School electives.
Currently, Oak Meadow offers the following elective courses: Spanish
I-IV, Health, Fine Art courses [The Experience of Art (drawing), the
Study of Art (art history), Creative Writing (prose and poetry
emphases), Introduction to Music, Photography, Culinary Arts--one of
these courses must be selected to fulfill the Fine Arts requirement],
Religions of the World, Horse Husbandry, Current Events Seminar,
Christian Faith and Life, Technical Drawing, Yearbook, and Driver
Education.
At times a student expresses a particular interest in taking a course in a particular subject area, and it is possible to develop an elective course to satisfy that need. There may need to be a $100 fee to develop such an elective course.
2. A course taken at a local junior college.
This is possible when the course taken at the junior college is not one
offered by Oak Meadow High School (i.e., a course offered by Oak Meadow
cannot be substituted by the same or similar course at the junior
college). Many junior colleges are now offering both high school and
college course credits for juniors and seniors. To enjoy this double
benefit, the proper forms must be filled out and signed by both the
college counselor and the Oak Meadow High School Director. When a
particular junior college will not offer dual credit, fill out the form
choosing “college credit”; Oak Meadow School will give elective high
school credit.
3. A class in the community that meets regularly. This could be pottery, computer skills, piano or voice lessons, etc. Credit will be based upon the number of hours of instruction and involvement in the course per week. Each hour of instruction/involvement per week earns one-tenth (0.1) unit of credit for each semester the student is enrolled in the class. To receive this academic credit, the student must fill out an Application for Independent Study Credit each semester of enrollment in the class.
4. Work experience. The student may work part time at a job, and receive credit for this experience. For this alternative, one-tenth (0.1) credit is earned for every forty (40) hours of work experience, up to a maximum of five (5) units of elective credit. Oak Meadow High School issues Work Permits for its students. Work Permits require that the student maintain adequate academic standing; when a student fails to achieve acceptable grades (a “C” average, with no fails), or is not turning in work consistently so that he or she is falling far behind in course work (anything more than four lessons in arrears in any course), the Work Permit will be revoked. To receive academic credit for Work Experience, the student must fill out an Application for Independent Study Credit for each semester of work.
We ask our students to do more than “know the facts”; we ask them to do something with the facts, to arrive at conclusions and opinions, to think and to write critically and analytically, to interpret and synthesize.
The Curriculum
Students enroll in individual courses in Oak Meadow High School just like they would do in any other high school. This is done in consultation with the Oak Meadow High School Director, to ensure that each student is on track toward graduation. Much of our course material has been developed by Oak Meadow School in Vermont (our parent school), but we have many courses developed by our faculty locally. All courses are college preparatory.
Classroom Experiences
It is important that families and students understand the exact
nature of our educational program. We are not a “homeschool” program,
as defined above. We offer an independent study program, which, of
course, requires students to grow toward becoming fully self-directed
learners. Some courses provide all assignments for the year at the
beginning of the term; others are given by the semester; others weekly.
In any case, the academic program is adaptable for students who must be
away from the school for a time because of the requirements of their
extra-surricular activities.
As an independent study program, students are required to meet with an Oak Meadow qualified teacher once each week. Teachers are qualified to teach and direct student progress in the courses they are responsible for. The weekly class meetings are designed to introduce the course material for the week ahead, and to adequately present the material so that the students have a strong ground upon which they can pursue their independent study of the week's assignments. Also, the assignments completed and due from the previous week are collected so that they can be evaluated and graded.
Weekly classes are scheduled by the School in consultation with students and teachers. A schedule of class meetings will be provided to each student at the beginning of each term.
In addition to the weekly classes, the school offers at least two other days each week when students may receive additional instruction, guidance and mentoring in their academic experience. The tuition fees cover attendance on these Learning Center days. See the published schedule for days and times.Oak Meadow High School Class Attendance Policy
Students taking any core curriculum course (English, social studies, math, science, foreign language), are required to attend the class for the courses they are taking. Most courses meet once each week. We have discovered through the years that students do not take an independent study program seriously if the basic requirement of class attendance one day a weekis abandoned. Oak Meadow High School is thus very firm about this requirement:
Being present is rewarded. And three unexcused absences means that the student will be drop-failed for that semester.
Being on time is rewarded. And two tardies is the equivalent of one unexcused absence.
A parent must call the school early on the day of an excused absence to let the school know that his/her student will be absent that day.
No classes are held during the
summer months. Students who must complete work over the summer will
mail work to their teachers and receive it back by mail.
Submission of Course Work
The rigorous nature of the Oak Meadow course of study requires that students be consistent in their productivity. We realize that we are training and mentoring young adults who have not yet reached full maturity, and who will tend to find any "crack" made available to them to not be fully responsible. Thus, it is required that students turn in lessons at each weekly meeting of their classes. Unless an absence is excused, work that is not turned in at the class when it is due is not accepted:
Work turned in on time is rewarded. And late work is not accepted. Specifically, the student will receive a Fail for that assignment. However, the student must still eventually complete the work acceptably in order not to receive an Incomplete in the course for the semester. It is thus absolutely disadvantageous for the student not to turn in work when it is due.
Excused absences still required responsibility. Students who have had to miss class are responsible to get missed assignments AND to communicate with the teacher about the new new date.
Partially completed lessons are not accepted. They are the equivalent of no work turned in.
Work that is unreadable, or that is done so
poorly that it indicates no effort at all, is not accepted.
Students will not get by with a rush job at the last second in
order to "meet the requirement" that work be turned in on time.
This kind of work is the equivalent of no work turned in.
Oak Meadow High School students receive actual letter grades for each and every assignment that is turned in. Work that is submitted is carefully corrected and commented upon, and returned directly to the student. Parents are to be advised that work is returned to students on class days, and that it is parents’ responsibility to track their student’s progress by going over the returned work with him or her. When a student fails to do acceptable work, the teachers will attempt to remedy the situation by communicating directly with the student; should that fail to achieve the required response, the parents will be contacted and asked to intervene. Progress Reports are issued every five weeks.
Semester grades are issued at the end of the first semester (before winter break in December), and at the end of the second semester (end of May). These grades become a part of the students formal high school transcript for college purposes.
Graduation
Upon completion of the required twenty units, the Oak Meadow High School student is ready for graduation. Because we recognize the importance of fostering a student’s sense of place in a larger community, we require all of our graduates to participate in the formal graduation exercise in June of his or her year of graduation. Some students may actually complete their course work before the spring semester; they will formally graduate along with their class in June. There is a graduation fee charged to each 12th grade student, which varies from year to year, depending on the actual costs of renting a suitable facility, cap and gown rentals, etc.
Students must be current with all fees to participate in graduation exercises. A formal diploma and final transcript indicating graduation will be mailed to the student following the graduation exercises.
The Teachers
All Oak Meadow High School teachers are degreed and/or highly experienced in their fields of study. A current list of Oak Meadow High School teachers and their qualifications is available upon request.
We encourage our students to enjoy a wide range of activities in their high school years, to seek out their areas of particular interest and excitement and to get involved in them. Oak Meadow School does not pretend to be a "school mall" like a large public high school. We rely upon the many very experienced and expert teachers and mentors in the community that offer their services to passionate young people. Oak Meadow School partners with many of these, so that our students can enjoy a very well-rounded high school experience.
High School Fees
High School tuition fees are separate from the enrollment fee (see Enrollment page), and are payable according to a contract signed by families at the beginning of the school year (annually, quarterly, or monthly). The annual tuition for a high school student, which includes all courses the student chooses to take (up to seven), attendance at Learning Center as needed, insurance, mailings, etc., is $4750.00. Tuition may be paid annually, quarterly (three payments of $1584.00), or monthly (ten payments of 475.00).
High School Course Recommendations
Ninth Grade
World History, Biology, English 9, Mathematics (Pre-Algebra, Algebra I), Foreign language, Physical Education
Tenth Grade
English 10, Health or Anatomy, Physiology and Nutrition, Mathematics (Algebra I or Geometry), Foreign language, Physical Education, Fine Art or Elective
Eleventh Grade
U.S. History, American Literature, Anatomy, Physiology and Nutrition, or Environmental Science or Chemistry* (to fulfill second year of science requirement, if necessary), Mathematics (Geometry or Algebra II*), Foreign language** or Elective
Twelfth Grade
U.S. Government, World Literature, Psychology, Chemistry*, or Physics*, Mathematics (Algebra II* or Pre-Calculus*), Foreign Language** and/or Electives to earn needed credits for graduation
* Course normally taken at local JC for dual credit ** 3rd and 4th years of foreign language normally taken at local JC for dual credit