Parental Override Policy | Westford Public Schools

Requirements for English Honors and Advanced Placement

To select honors, students must receive a recommendation from their English teacher and achieve at least a 93 average in eighth grade language arts, achieve a 90 average in a college preparatory class, or maintain an 85 average in the honors program. Teacher recommendations are based on the "Characteristics of a Successful Honors English student," which can be found on the English department webpage. In addition, those students who seek to move from the college preparatory class into the honors program may be asked to complete an assessment to demonstrate their inferential reading level to be consistent with others in the honors program. In order to enter the Advanced Placement class, a student must have participated in the honors program and have earned at least an 87 average. Students may not move from a college preparatory class into the Advanced Placement class.

Override Policy

In some extenuating circumstances, parents/caregivers may formally request an override of the teacher's recommendation or eligibility requirements for a course or courses. In those instances, the student may enroll in the desired course with the understanding that the student will remain in said course for the entire school year.

In a continuing effort to support student success and well-being and based on a review of data, the following limitations are in place for overrides:

A student may only submit override requests for a maximum of 2 classes.

An override will not be granted if students are more than 5 points below the required prerequisite course grade.

The student’s parent/caregiver understands that additional support beyond extra help from the classroom teacher may be needed to be successful in this course.

For current WA students, override qualifications will be evaluated at the end of quarter 3 using the year-to-date grade (cumulative grade consisting of quarter 1, quarter 2, midterm assessment, and quarter 3). For 8th-grade students, override qualifications will be evaluated at the end of T2 using the year-to-date grade (cumulative grade consisting of T1 and T2).

If students who have completed the process achieve the prerequisite grade by the end of Q3, Curriculum Coordinators will remove the override tag.

If students who have completed the process move into the override qualification range by the end of Q3, their override will be granted; CCs will notify students, parents/caregivers/guardians, and the school counselor.

If students who have completed the process move out of the override qualification range, CCs will communicate to students, parents/caregivers/guardians, and the school counselor that they are no longer eligible to override.

Override Process

If you wish to override the recommendation of your student’s teacher in selecting a course for next year, the following process must be followed:

If you have not been through the override process before and would like to have a meeting with the curriculum coordinator to discuss the implications of an override or have questions about the courses, please contact the department coordinator for that subject directly to set up a meeting. This meeting must be requested prior to March 8, 2024.

If you have been through this process before and feel that you have a full understanding of the override process:

Click on the link below for the specific department. You must complete a separate form for each department course.

Complete the override form (available beginning March 1, 2024) agreeing to the conditions stated in the policy above. Once you complete, sign, and submit this form, you will receive a confirmation email.

You must submit the Google Form by MARCH 8, 2024 at 2pm. There are NO EXCEPTIONS to this deadline.

The Override Form collects an electronic signature and requires a Google account to submit. If necessary, please use a WPS student account to complete the form with your student. Having a digital signature (.jpeg or .pdf) ready to submit will speed up the process.

English Override Form - Janet Keirstead, English Language Arts Curriculum Coordinator