GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

 

Graduation requirements include:

Course distribution

Credits

Project

GPA

 

COURSE DISTRIBUTION AND CREDIT REQUIREMENTS

Graduation from Downingtown High School shall be based upon the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade achievements. All students must meet the minimum academic requirements as outlined below. A student who fails to meet the requirements for graduation may not participate in class commencement ceremonies.

                                                                       

The minimum District course requirements for graduation are:

 

 

 

 

Students may not take two sequential courses simultaneously.  Students failing a required course must repeat the course in the regular school program or through an approved make-up alternative.  If this is not done, graduation will be delayed.

 

GPA 

In order to graduate, students must achieve a minimum of 1.8 cumulative average.

 

GRADUATION PROJECT

 

Course #9596

The Downingtown Area School District Graduation Project provides each student with the opportunity to go beyond the traditional educational program.  By transferring learned skills to self-selected areas of physical, intellectual, or artistic interest, students will:

·          Expand personal knowledge

·          Apply learning to practical, real life situations

·          Explore career paths

·          Become lifelong learners

Project Form

 

Projects may take the form of:

·          A Community Service Experience (Examples:  Work at WIC; Women’s Shelter; Homeless Shelter, Volunteerism with DARE, DARC, Soup Kitchen.)

·          An Extended and Focused Study  (Examples:  Explore a particular topic of interest such as world hunger, health care, aging, social organizations, environmental issues, racial harmony, education, labor relations, industry, business, crime, technology of the future, a particular period of time such as America in the 50’s or Medieval Times, or a particular invention, discovery, or contribution.

·          An Original Research Effort (Examples:  Design and conduct a scientifically controlled experiment; conduct case study research; conduct an active participant school or community study; conduct an ethnographic study.

·          A Creative Production (Examples:  a dance performance, an oral history performance, creating a classroom museum, writing historical fiction, a play, children’s books, a volume of poetry; an art exhibit, a fashion show, a sculpture exhibit, performing original music compositions, creating a video.

·          A Scientific Investigation  (Examples:  Replicate and validate an experiment; conduct an investigation on an original question.)

·          A Practical Application  (Examples:  Building a playground, constructing a greenhouse, completing auto body design and repair; developing new or applied tools, organizing a drive such as a toy drive, food drive, fund raiser, etc.)

·          A Career Exploration  (Examples:  Planning and implementing a career discovery process built upon one’s interest, and intern or shadowing experiences at multiple work locations in the chosen field at various career points.)

·          Other Student Initiated Proposal  (Examples:  Teaching assistantships, peer tutoring, after-school tutoring, career fairs, political investigation.)