Now that the second semester has started on campus, there are changes to plagiarism and cheating.
“Across the district administrators have been talking about the policies and making sure that we’re really clear to kids and what the ramifications would be if they were to be academically dishonest,” principal Stacy Whaling said. “Our goal is always to give kids all of the information so that way they can be successful and not get themselves in a pickle.”
Whaling believes diminishing academic dishonesty starts with mental health,
“We often find that when kids do things that are academically dishonest, it’s coming from a place of stress, anxiety and things like that,” Whaling said. “So we want to try to get in front of that with kids so that way, they know like, ‘hey, this is not going to make your life any easier’. We really want to make sure that we are holding kids accountable for the behavior not with the grade typically.”
Plagiarism is defined as copying and passing off the expression of ideas or words of another as one’s own use another’s work without crediting the source, and cheating is defined as violating rules dishonestly.
The changes have been made to ensure that students who choose not to meet expectations for appropriate academic integrity are subject to the following accountability measures: the first offense is a 2 hour reflection and a potential suspension, the second offense is one day of ISS, potential suspension, and recommendation letters may be in jeopardy from teachers, and the offenses after that include 2 ISS days, the same offenses from the first and second, and additional interventions to support academic success.
These news policies are effective immediately, and Whaling explains the new rules will provide clarity for students and parents.
“I think clarity is always really super important for kids, for teachers, for parents,” Whaling said. “I think that knowing what the policies are and just being really upfront about it, I think that’s really important. I also hope that if a student is feeling a certain way regarding content or materials they come in before getting themselves in a position that could put them in a position that’s not not going to be conducive to success.”
