Academic Policies and Procedures

A minimum of 21 credits is required for graduation; however, most students will complete 25 or more credits during their four years in the Upper School.  Students must also fulfill the following departmental requirements:

English: Four full-year courses in grades 9-12 to include ENG 100: World Literature I (Grade 9), ENG 200: World Literature II (Grade 10), and

            ENG 300: American Literature (Grade 11) or ENG 350: Advanced American Literature (ADV) (Grade 11)

Fine and Performing Arts: ART 100: World Arts I (Grade 9), ART 120: World Arts II (Grade 10), and one (1) additional credit in Fine and

Performing Arts in grades 9-12

History and Social Sciences: Three full-year courses in grades 9-12 to include SOC 100: World History I (Grade 9), SOC 200: World History II

            (Grade 10), and SOC 300: U.S. History (Grade 11) or SOC 350:  Advanced U.S. History (ADV) (Grade 11)

Mathematics: Three full-year courses in grades 9-12 to include a minimum of Algebra II.  Students interested in a school in the University of North

            Carolina system will need to pass one course beyond Algebra II.

Physical Education and Wellness:

            Grade 9:   PEH 100: Physical Education/Health
            Grade 10: PEH 310/320/330: Emotional Health and either:

            (a)   one trimester of PEH 210/220/230: Physical Education,

            (b)  ART 600: Modern Dance, or a

            (c)   PE Exemption (see below for PE Exemption information)

             Grades 11 and 12: One trimester of PEH 210/220/230: Physical Education each year, ART 600: Modern Dance, or a PE Exemption

Science: Three full-year courses in grades 9-12 to include SCI 100: Biology (Grade 9), SCI 200: Chemistry (Grade 10), and SCI 300: Physics or

            SCI 350: Honors Physics (H) (Grades 11 or 12)

World Languages: Three full-year courses in one foreign language in grades 9-12.  

Students are required to take a minimum of 5 credits each trimester, unless they qualify for one of the exceptions listed below.  Required Physical Education and Wellness courses do not count towards this total.  The requirements for a full academic schedule are subject to two exceptions:

1.      Students may reduce their course load to four (4) credits of major academic courses each trimester if at least two of the four courses are Advanced (ADV) courses.

2.      Students who qualify for the Competitive Performance Program (described in CA Student Handbook) may be allowed to reduce their course load to four (4) credits.

Cary Academy offers opportunities for students with exceptional talent and motivation to advance beyond the scope of the typical college-preparatory curriculum.   Honors (H) mathematics and physics courses are offered and Advanced (ADV) courses are offered in all departments except Physical Education and Wellness.

Honors courses designated (H) in mathematics and physics go into greater detail and depth than the corresponding non-honors course.  Students enroll in an Honors (H) course with the understanding that the work requirements are more rigorous than typical Cary Academy courses. 

Cary Academy offers Advanced (ADV) courses in lieu of Advanced Placement (AP) courses.  Advanced (ADV) courses are taught with the rigor and expectations (especially in terms of time needed for study out of class) of college courses.  These courses differ from AP courses in that teachers have the ability to modify the AP course syllabus and emphasize depth of research and study, or specific areas of study not prescribed in the AP syllabus.  Most Cary Academy students enrolled in Advanced (ADV) courses choose to sit for the corresponding Advanced Placement (AP) examination offered by The College Board.

Each May, Cary Academy administers AP examinations to interested students in all academic areas represented in the school’s curriculum.  Advanced Placement (AP) examinations are graded on a scale 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.

Students who are interested in a particular Advanced (ADV) course should discuss their interest with their current teacher in the academic area, faculty advisor, college counselor, and their parents.  Students enroll in an Advanced (ADV) course with the understanding that the work requirements are more rigorous than typical Cary Academy courses.  The decision to admit a student into an Advanced (ADV) course is made at the department level after consideration of the student’s grades, teacher recommendations, standardized test scores, motivation, total course load, and extracurricular involvement outside and within the school.  Individual departments create their own criteria for entrance into Advanced (ADV) courses.  Advanced (ADV) courses in the sciences meet for additional class periods to accommodate the demands of a rigorous laboratory program.  Note: A few course titles contain the word “Advanced”, but no (ADV) designation, simply to distinguish them from “Introductory” level courses.

Normally, students are allowed to take up to two Advanced (ADV) courses in the junior year and three Advanced (ADV) courses in the senior year.  Exceptions may be made for students who demonstrate appropriate levels of achievement. 

The following chart details policies governing course changes in the Upper School.  When adding or dropping courses, students and parents are asked not to request particular subject area teachers.

Students may take courses for advancement during summer school at schools other than Cary Academy, but Cary Academy will not give graduation credit for such courses.  It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the other school sends an official transcript, showing the grade and credit, to colleges, scholarship programs, summer programs, etc.  Cary Academy does not attach transcripts from other institutions to the Cary Academy official transcript.  Current and newly enrolled Upper School students interested in taking a summer course at another school in order to advance in an area of study (e.g., a student might take Geometry in order to advance from Algebra I directly to Algebra II), must obtain approval in writing, from the appropriate department chair, prior to taking the summer course.  The student will also be expected to complete the final exam of the Cary Academy course and earn a score of 85 or better to obtain the higher placement. 

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

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 in the following ways:

q       repeating the course in a summer school session immediately following the course failure (To gain

      credit for the course, the student must take the appropriate Cary Academy course final exam and

      score a minimum of 70.)

q       repeating and passing the course in the following academic year. 

q       a means agreed upon by the teacher of the course, the Department Chair, the Upper School Head,

      and the student and parents. 

A student in the Upper School who has two or more course failures for an academic year will not be allowed to continue as a Cary Academy student.

Cary Academy endeavors to prepare students for college by exposing them to four years of 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. 

To graduate early, Cary Academy students must complete a minimum of 21 credits and fulfill departmental requirements (see pages 1-2) by the end of the junior year.  To graduate following the junior year means that a student must annually complete seven (7) Cary Academy courses in Grades 9, 10, and 11.  This is a very rigorous course load that does not allow for any study or free periods.

Requests for early graduation must be submitted to the Assistant Head of Upper School by May 1 of the student’s sophomore year (grade 10).

During the Spring Trimester, students register for their courses for the following academic year.  Each student’s advisor will review course options and work with the student, parents, the Assistant Head of Upper School, and the College Counselor(s) to help assure that he or she has met all graduation requirements and has chosen a course of studies appropriate to his or her academic achievement and plans.

In spite of the School’s best effort to satisfy students’ course requests within the academic regulations of each academic department, students may not be able to enroll in courses they have chosen due to enrollment, class size, scheduling conflicts, and other factors beyond the control of the School.  In this event, the School will make reasonable efforts to accommodate student requests for alternative courses.

Unless otherwise specified, each course listed is a year-long course that meets 5 periods a week and carries 1 credit for the year.  Courses which meet 5 times per week for one term carry 1/3 credit.  Other courses carry credit and meet as indicated in the course description.

In spite of the School’s best effort to satisfy students’ course requests within the academic regulations of each academic department, students may not be able to enroll in courses they have chosen due to enrollment, class size, scheduling conflicts, and other factors beyond the control of the School.  In this event, the School will make reasonable efforts to accommodate student requests for alternative courses.