De La Salle teachers are pretty epic: each equipped with a distinct personality and dedication to service, they meet you where you are, but see exactly where you could be.
Jackowiak, Colletti, Davidson, Bixman, the Stebletons, the Maldonados… De La Salle teachers become your household names. Mr. Wood is a legend – and the recipient of the Lasallian Educator Award – and you know you’ll be talking about what Cunat, Dufficy or Dirschl said long after class is over. How much weight did your bridge hold? Did you have to ask Correa for your locker key again? Did you study for Mrs. Perales’ test?! The buzz is always about how you can be better – and the support is always available for your success.
We love to have fun, but we also stress continued success: in order to maintain your enrollment status at De La Salle Institute, all students must earn a minimum 2.0 Grade Point Average during any school year.
Basically, our curriculum is structured by our faculty to recognize that we’re not just teaching teenagers how to pass exams; we know you and create our lessons based on what you individually need. A full description of the curriculum may be found in the Curriculum Guide published annually.
De La Salle offers three programs of study: the Honors Program and the College Preparatory Program. Though students are placed into programs based on their entrance exam results, consistent effort, obvious student improvement, and teacher recommendations make a student’s participation in the programs fluid. See the Admissions Counselor for more details
HONORS PROGRAM
Honors Program students are required to take seven (7) classes each year and a minimum of five (5) Honors Classes as specified in the Curriculum Guide. To graduate with an Honors diploma, the student must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or above and successfully complete the Independent Honors Capstone Project (SS259).
COLLEGE PREPARATORY PROGRAM
Students in the College Preparatory Program will be ready for college-level curriculum. The courses and sequences listed in the Curriculum Guide are designed to challenge students and prepare them for higher education learning.
THE LASALLE COLLEGE PREP PROGRAM
The Lasalle College Prep Program is designed to provide students with the opportunity to study college preparatory courses at a more modest pace. It is designed to prepare the student for entrance into college, junior college, professional school and/or the workplace.
A student’s promotion from year to year is based upon the satisfactory completion of all courses in which he/she is enrolled in the academic year.
| College Prep | Honors | |
| Sophomore Year | 6.5 credits | 7.0 credits |
| Junior Year | 13 credits | 14 credits |
| Senior Year | 19 credits | 20.5 credits |
Feeling Ambitious?
Guidelines for Taking Extra Courses
A student may take extra courses upon the approval of his/her guidance counselor and the assistant principal, in addition to any required Division approval. This approval will be based on the student’s ability to handle an extra class, as demonstrated in his/her previous academic performance. Placement in the course depends on availability during the student’s free period.
How De La Salle Supports Student Success
Remember how we said we meet you where you are?
What we didn’t say is that you can stay there for long. You have potential, and we will lead you where we know you can go. We do that by making sure we’re in constant communication – so that you’re meeting that minimum 2.0 GPA Requirement. And if you’re fueled by competition, your class rank (based on your semester grades) will reveal how you’re doing in comparison with all the other students in your grade.
One way we do this is by using Schoology, which allows parents and students access to student progress reports (including graded and missing assignments, quizzes, and exams) for each class. Teachers update Schoology by 9 a.m. every other Monday (exact dates can be found on the academic calendar).
Let’s say a class that sounded interesting during March of your sophomore year isn’t as exciting for you to take as a junior. Schedule changes can be made, but they must be made BEFORE the beginning of each semester. Applications can be picked up from the Assistant Principal’s office. There is a $40.00 processing charge. No changes will be made once the semester begins.
At approximately midpoint in the grading period, teachers complete a special report for all students that observe student habits (in participation, management, etc.) that are commendable or recommended for improvement. These Mid-Quarter Reports are a snapshot into the student’s progress – or lack of it. The grades on the Mid-Quarter Report are not final, so they will not be reflected in the student’s Grade Point Average (GPA), which is the average grade of the student for the entire time he/she has been in high school, based on their cumulative semester average grades.
Let’s say your academic performance falls below the 2.0 GPA requirement. This is our first clue that we’re either not meeting you where you are, or that you’re missing some keystone habits to help you be successful.
- Both student and a parent/guardian will be required to attend a hearing with the Academic Advisory Committee.
- The student will be placed on Academic Probation with certain terms that must be met within a specified period of time. This information will be shared with the Assistant Principal and the student’s counselor.
- The Chairperson will monitor the student’s progress for the remainder of the school year. Additional meetings with the student and parent/guardian may be held as necessary.
If the student’s academic performance improves satisfactorily, the Academic Probation will be removed. However, if the student’s academic performance has not improved to a minimum 2.0 G.P.A. during a specified period of time, the student may not be allowed to return to De La Salle.
Academic Probation is an internal school procedure, and, as such, it does not become part of a student’s permanent record. Instead, it is designed as another means to promote academic success for all De La Salle students.
Requirements for Graduation
Currently, the following 25 credits are required to graduate from De La Salle (27 credits for students in the Honors Program):
Division of Social Sciences:
(Dean: Mr. John Brogan)
7.0 credits to be distributed in the following way:
- 3.5 credits in Theology (4 years of Religion)
- 3.0 credits in Social Studies (World History, U. S. History, American Government, and US Constitution Exam
- 0.5 credit in Consumer Education
Division of Language Arts
(Dean: Ms. Carrie Contreras)
7.0 credits to be distributed in the following way:
- 4.0 credits in English
- 2.0 credits in Foreign Language
- 0.5 credit in Fine Arts
- 0.5 credit Intro to DLS Academics
Division of Applied Sciences
(Dean: Mr. Dale Burke)
7.0 credits to be distributed in the following way:
- 3.0 credits in Mathematics
- 2.5 credits in Science
- 1.5 credits in Physical Education
Elective Courses
4. 0 credits
- Included, but not limited to, math, science, drama, band, art, accounting, law, language, history
Transfer students to De La Salle are subject to the requirements listed on their individual Academic Agreement filed by the Assistant Principal. If a student transfers from a public school to De La Salle, the requirement for religion is waived for the time spent in public school.
PARTICIPATION IN GRADUATION
Wanna throw your cap in the air with the people who have been by your side for 4 years? Make sure you meet all the scholarly and financial requirements (listed under requirements for graduation). If students are deficient in any credits, failing any senior courses (whether required or elective), or have outstanding financial obligations to the school, students will not be allowed to participate in the graduation exercises.
A senior who is deficient in credit may be given special permission by the Assistant Principal to attend night school to make up for deficiencies in order to graduate. The final transcript confirming night school participation must be on file with the Assistant Principal in order to participate in graduation ceremonies.
Grades
The grades issued on the report card have the following meanings:
A
(A + 99-100%)
(A 93-98%)
(A- 90-92%)
This is the highest achievement in the subject being rated.
B
(B+ 88-89%)
(B 83-87%)
(B- 80-82%)
This grade indicates performance of above average quality.
C
(C+ 78-79%)
(C 73-77%)
(C- 70-72%)
This grade indicates accomplishment with an average grasp of the subject.
D
(D+ 68-69%)
(D 63-67%)
(D- 60-62%)
This grade indicates a deficiency in the mastery of knowledge and skills of the course.
F
(below 60%)
This grade indicates that the student has not fulfilled the minimum requirements of the course. A student with a grade of “F” receives no credit for the course.
I
Incomplete is not a grade. It is used only in the case of a student who has not met the minimum requirements of the course due to circumstances beyond his/her control. An incomplete automatically becomes a failure unless the work is completed during the following three weeks of school or unless the time is extended by the Assistant Principal.
WP or WF
(Withdrew Passing or Withdrew Failing)This grade is issued to a student who has dropped a class and has maintained a passing average (WP) or a failing average (WF). Neither grade generates credit and such a grade cannot count in Grade Point Average (GPA) or toward graduation. Application for a WP or WF grade must be made before the end of the seventh week of the semester. The schedule change fee applies in this case. Required subjects and required electives that are dropped must be made up in summer school. Withdrawal dates are listed on the calendar.
The school is on a quarterly grade report system. Therefore, the final grade is a weighted average of the first and second quarter grades and the semester exam of each semester. The two quarter grades are worth a total of 75% of the grade and the semester exams are worth 25% of the grade. Two successive F grades in either the two quarters or the last quarter and the semester exam will result in a semester failure.
HONOR ROLL
Honor Roll is based on letter grades, not grade point average.
Students on the “A” Honor Roll will have earned at least four “A’s” and the remainder of grades “B”.
Students on the “B” Honor Roll earned a “B” Average and no grade lower than “C”.
Any students with a “U” are ineligible for the Honor Roll.
FAILURES
A student who receives a grade of “F” for the semester is required to make up that semester’s work in De La Salle’s Summer School during the following summer.
In some courses, second semester work is so closely dependent upon the material mastered during the first semester that success in the second semester indicates a mastery of the material from the first semester. Hence, a student who attains at least a “C” in the second semester in a foreign language, science, accounting, mathematics, or technical drawing, after having failed the course for a first semester can have the failure removed and a “D” given for each semester.
SUMMER SCHOOL
In order to return to De La Salle the following year, a student deficient in credits and/or failing any classes (including non-required subjects) for the semester must make up those classes in De La Salle’s Summer School. A student deficient in any credit may not return or be admitted to De La Salle.
Transfer Students
When evaluating the status of transfer students, the following policies regarding credits will be used:
- If a student transfers from a public school, the requirement for religion is waived for the time he/she attended the public school.
- If the student transfers from a Catholic high school which offers only one-half credit of religion per year, the one full credit requirement is waived for the time he/she attended the other Catholic school.
- A student must have passed physical education each year that he/she took it at the previous school. If a school did not require physical education in a given year, De La Salle waives the requirement for that year.
- Electives not offered at De La Salle are counted as electives toward graduation, if the student’s previous school so counted them.
- All other requirements for graduation from De La Salle must be taken and passed.
- All transfer students, having fulfilled all academic requirements for admittance to De La Salle, will be admitted on Transfer Student Probation.
- All transfer students and their parents are required to read and be familiar with the Student Handbook in the area of Conduct and Discipline.
Academic Integrity
De La Salle Institute is committed to providing an atmosphere that fosters a desire for excellence in education. With these core ideals in mind, the De La Salle Honor Code was created to pursue the mission of building a strong character rooted in honest and authentic academic work. The success of this commitment is a binding effort among our staff and students that will be hindered by academic dishonesty.
