Course Catalog - Policies
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The Cary Academy school year is based on a trimester system. Providing uninterrupted learning is a priority, as is providing the faculty with ample time for planning and staff development. Each academic day contains academic course periods, a Tutorial/Enrichment period, and a lunch period.

Students select courses each spring for the following academic year, after discussing course options with their advisors, with their current teachers, and with their parents prior to filling out a course sign-up worksheet. Students and their parents can view their schedule at any time on the Cary Academy computer network.

Once a Middle School student's course schedule is finalized, no changes may be made to it without the approval of the Middle School Head. Parents will be consulted regarding any request for course changes.

Changing or withdrawing from an Upper School course requires approval from the student’s advisor, teacher, parent, and the Upper School Head. A Drop/Add period is provided to allow students to adjust their schedules without penalty. Changes made after the Drop/Add period also require approval of the student’s advisor, teacher, parent, and the Upper School Head. For year-long courses, changes may be allowed before the beginning of the second trimester. In that case, both courses will appear on the student’s transcript and the final grade in the added course will be calculated on the basis of the work done. If a student drops a course after the Drop/Add period and does not replace it with another course, the dropped course will be noted on the transcript with appropriate withdrawal comment. (W/P-withdraw pass; W/F – withdraw/fail; W/M-withdraw/medical). Movement from an Honors or Advanced class to a regular section before the end of the first trimester will not be considered a drop, and only the section to which the student moves is placed on the transcript.

A number of factors impact the composition of any given class. Parents are asked not to request particular subject area teachers. Exceptions to this policy can be made only by the Division Head.

Cary Academy supplements classroom instruction with homework designed to practice skills and reinforce concepts introduced in class; provide challenging and interesting independent study; and help students develop responsibility for their own work. All homework is developmentally appropriate, and assessed promptly by faculty; homework is an integral part of the learning process at Cary Academy.

Parents may assist students with their homework, but should recognize the value of students taking ownership for their own learning. The amount of time spent on homework each night may vary, based on the student’s abilities, homework assignments, and other factors, but in general, Cary Academy recommends that students schedule 1 to 2 hours per night for homework in the Middle School and 2 to 3 hours per night for homework in the Upper School.

Cary Academy assesses students' progress frequently in order to encourage better student performance. When everyone stays informed about the student's performance, then the student, parents, and teachers can all work together to help the student achieve his or her potential.

At the end of each trimester, Cary Academy distributes report cards and evaluation forms that detail the progress of each student. The school also distributes Mid-Term Progress Reports. Teachers’ comments are included in the Mid-Term Progress Reports for students whose average in a given course is at or below a C-, for students who have shown remarkable progress in a course or whose average has dropped significantly, or for students who have received a 1 or 2 effort mark. Parents should always feel free to contact individual teachers or their student’s advisors with any questions or concerns.

In addition to these regular reports, teachers track the progress for each student on the school's computer network. These student performance logs are updated frequently and contain narrative accounts of student performance. These files are confidential, with only the student and the student's parents having access to them. Of course, these reports are meant to augment, not replace, the essential communication that students must have with their parents to keep them informed of their progress.

Students receive two marks for each course: one for achievement and one for effort.

Each academic department establishes its own criteria for assessing achievement and effort. These criteria are shared with students at the beginning of the school year and throughout the rest of the year.

Cary Academy sponsors formal parent-advisor conferences twice each year. Approximately halfway through the first trimester, parents have a chance to meet briefly with each of their child's teachers. Late in the spring, parents have a chance to meet with their child's faculty advisor. Parents are notified well in advance of these conference opportunities so that they can make necessary arrangements to attend. Cary Academy encourages all parents to take advantage of these conferences.

Of course, parents may request a conference with teachers or advisors at any point during the year.

Students who meet the following requirements are recognized at the end of each academic term for their achievements on an Academic Honor Roll:

Scholar's Honor Roll
All trimester grades of B or above, allowing for one grade of B-.

Effort Honor Roll
A minimum of three effort marks of 4 with the remainder of the marks no less than 3.

A student with an "Incomplete" on record is ineligible for the Honor Roll until the incomplete has been resolved. Only students who are taking a full academic schedule as defined in this catalog are eligible for Honor Roll consideration.

The following conversion chart is used to calculate a student’s average for honor roll determination:

Upper School students whose names appear on the Honor Roll are eligible for Honor Study Days – time to pursue educational activities off or on campus – during the following trimester. Students who achieve both Headmaster's Honor Roll and Effort Honors status are eligible for two Honor Study Days. Students who achieve either Scholar's Honors or Effort Honors are eligible for one Honor Study Day. A student must have the approval of his or her teachers, parents, and the Upper School Head at least three days prior to the scheduled Honor Study Day.

In a group of highly capable and motivated students, Grade Point Averages (GPA’s) tend to cluster close together. This can create insignificant GPA differences that lead to significant differences in class rank, as well as an unhealthy competitive environment. Consequently, Cary Academy does not rank students according to GPA.

Faculty members have the option of assigning "Incomplete" as a course grade at the end of a trimester for students who have been unable to complete work due to extended absence from school. Students receiving an incomplete have three weeks from the end of the trimester to make up all missing work. If a student requires additional time to make up the work, the request for an extension must be submitted to the appropriate Division Head. Students with an incomplete on their record are not eligible for Honor Roll until the incomplete has been resolved and the grade for the course has been entered. If a student fails to resolve and incomplete within the three-week time period allotted, the grade for the course will be based on all required work, including work not received.

The student's primary commitment should be to his or her academic progress. If a student is failing two or more courses at the end of a trimester, that student is immediately ineligible to participate in any school-sponsored extracurricular activities, including sports, fine and performing arts, and clubs. Students not failing two or more courses, yet performing poorly, may, at the discretion of the advisor, parent, and Division Head, be prohibited from participating in extracurricular activities. After three weeks, the appropriate Division Head will review the student's progress. If the student is making satisfactory progress in all courses identified as risk areas, then the student may again become eligible to participate in the extracurricular activities. Students must be in attendance for at least half of the school day to be eligible to participate in extracurricular activities on that day.

Definition

A student will be placed on Academic Probation at the end of each trimester if:

1. Advisor informs Head of Middle School at end of trimester about students who receive academic probation status.
2. Student and parents must meet with Head of Middle School.
3. An academic plan is developed by the Head of the Middle School (with the aid of the advisor and parents) and shared with all teachers of the student.

   This plan may include:

   1. Mandatory help sessions with faculty
   2. Working with an outside tutor
   3. Removal from extracurricular activities
4. Student meets with Head of Middle School to discuss academic plan
5. On a weekly basis student meets and updates advisor on his/her progress in implementing actions outlined in plan.

With Cary Academy's small class sizes and strong commitment to challenge each student within every course, there is no need to group students into different class sections based on their abilities.

Notwithstanding that commitment, Cary Academy does offer opportunities for students with exceptional talent and motivation to advance beyond the scope of the typical college-preparatory curriculum. These opportunities lie within honors mathematics and physics courses and college-level courses designated as "Advanced (ADV)."

The Advanced Placement (AP) Program of the College Entrance Examination Board offers introductory college-level courses in high school and certifies student achievement through AP Examinations in each course offered. Each May, Cary Academy offers and administers AP examinations in all academic areas represented in the school’s curriculum. The grading scale of the exam is from 1 to 5. Many colleges award credit or recognition to students who achieve a grade of 3 or higher on an AP exam. Consult the catalogs of prospective colleges for their policies regarding the Advanced Placement Program.

Some Advanced courses (such as those in the sciences) meet for additional class periods to accommodate the demands of a rigorous program.

Students who participate in Advanced courses are strongly encouraged to take the corresponding AP examination in May.

Students may take courses for advancement during summer school at schools other than Cary Academy. Cary Academy will not give graduation credit for such courses, but a copy of the other school’s transcript showing the grade and credit will be attached to the student’s Cary Academy transcript.

If a student takes a summer course at another school in an attempt to advance in an area of study (e.g., a student might take geometry in an attempt to advance from Algebra I directly to Algebra II), the student must complete the final exam in the course at Cary Academy and earn a score of 85 or better to obtain the higher placement. Prior approval to take the summer course should be obtained in writing from the appropriate department chair. Students taking courses at other schools once they have been admitted to Cary Academy are still responsible for meeting Cary Academy graduation requirements (e.g., a student taking geometry at another school during the summer and earning a score of 85 or better on the Cary Academy geometry final exam still must complete three years of mathematics at Cary Academy).

In order to honor our commitment to meeting the needs of individual students, Cary Academy recognizes that students involved in an extracurricular pursuit at a high level of expertise may desire adjustments to their academic program. To expect students to excel in Cary Academy’s rigorous academic environment and to meet the expectations for high-level extracurricular performance can result in too much stress on a student. As educators concerned for the whole child, we believe that we should recognize and promote excellence in and out of the classroom. The Competitive Performance Program (CPP) exists to help students reach that goal.

The CPP allows adjustments to a student’s course of studies to accommodate participation in an intense artistic, academic, cultural, or athletic activity for a portion of the school year (minimum of two weeks).

• A student who believes he or she may qualify for the Competitive Performance Program starts by discussing the extracurricular activity and its demands for training and competition with his or her advisor.
• The student, advisor, and student’s teachers set realistic goals, priorities, and expectations for work during the program. Together they develop a modified academic program that eliminates or reschedules some academic obligations or courses.
• The student submits an application to the appropriate Division Head that includes a description of the activity (including benefits to the student), hours per week devoted to the activity, length of the activity (number of weeks/months), and suggested academic modifications.
• Based on this application, the Division Head and the student’s teachers will attempt to fashion appropriate adjustments to the student’s course requirements.
• The appropriate Division Head monitors the program.

Cary Academy allocates a special period ("Enrichment" in the Middle School), during which students can meet with teachers, get started on the evening's homework, conduct research in an area of interest, or pursue other independent projects that relate to their academic studies. In addition to the Enrichment period, teachers are often available after school – by appointment – to help students with topics that are particularly challenging.

The Middle School Enrichment period is designed to further enrich a student's academic and social growth at Cary Academy. At the beginning of each Enrichment period, students report to their advisor's room. Then, depending on the day's schedule, students can meet with their advisors, work in the media center, attend grade-level assemblies and meetings, or work on projects and assignments.

Each faculty member advises 10 to 13 students and is responsible for monitoring the students’ experiences at Cary Academy.

Cary Academy's curriculum is designed to provide students with a well-rounded, rigorous education that prepares them for college and beyond. Our graduation requirements reflect this goal. 

Each department might require specific courses to fulfill the graduation credit requirement. For example, the history department requires World History I, World History II, and United States History to fulfill its 3-credit requirement. The science department requires Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Refer to the Course Catalog for each department’s specific graduation credit requirements.

After completing the core course requirements, students may enroll in any of the many electives offered at the school. A minimum of 21 credits is required for graduation, but most students will complete 25 or more credits during their four years in the Upper School. Most students will find time in their schedules for electives during grades 11 and 12.

The minimum passing grade at Cary Academy is "D."

No student may graduate from Cary Academy nor may a student advance from one grade to the next with an unresolved course failure in the Upper School. A student may resolve a course failure by repeating the course either in the summer school session immediately following the course failure or in the next academic year. Alternatively, the student may resolve the course failure by a means agreed upon by the student and parents, the teacher of the course, the department chair, and the Upper School Head.

Students in either the Middle School or the Upper School who have two or more course failures for an academic year will not be allowed to continue as Cary Academy students.

Students must take a minimum of 5 credits of major academic courses each trimester in grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 unless they qualify for one of the exceptions listed below. A major academic course is defined as any course in the English, Fine and Performing Arts, Foreign Language, History, Mathematics, Science, or Technology departments which carries 1 credit for the academic year or 1/3 credit for any academic term. Senior Year Studies is considered a major academic course.

The requirements for a full academic schedule are subject to three exceptions:

• Students may reduce their course load to 4 credits of major academic courses each trimester if at least two of the four courses are Advanced courses.
• If the student is interested in pursuing a college degree in either Visual Arts or Music Performance/Composition, that student may, with the permission of his or her advisor, parents, and Upper School Head, reduce the required academic class load to 4 credits within the junior or senior year. This provides the student with time to assemble a portfolio and take additional courses in the Fine and Performing Arts Department.
• Students who qualify for the Competitive Performance Program (described earlier in this handbook) may be allowed to reduce their course load to 4 credits of major courses.

The Upper School physical education curriculum emphasizes a diverse offering of fitness, lifetime, and team sport activities. By promoting healthy lifestyles through planned, regular exercise, students obtain the skills and knowledge to continue their physical activity in the years ahead. The goal of health and wellness instruction at Cary Academy is to promote health literacy. The program provides the necessary foundation to enable students to make sound decisions regarding their physical and emotional well-being.

Upper School graduation requirements: 9^th grade, Physical Education/Wellness; 10th grade, Emotional Health and one-term elective of physical education; 11th and 12th grades, one-term elective of physical education.

Seniors who meet all graduation requirements may participate in commencement exercises in June. A student who has not met all requirements, but who, in September, began a course of study that should have fulfilled the requirements, may also participate in the ceremony. However, a diploma will not be awarded until all requirements have been met.

Cary Academy endeavors to prepare students for college by exposing them to four years of rigorous study in the Upper School program. However, in special cases, with the approval of the student's Faculty Advisor, Upper School Head, and Head of School, a student may be eligible to graduate from Cary Academy after the junior year.