Parental Override Policy | Westford Public Schools

Override Policy

2024-2025 School Year

Information Regarding Overrides

Sometimes parents/caregivers/students choose to reject their teacher’s recommendation for placement and request enrollment in a more demanding course for which they are not academically eligible. There are risks in doing so. Specifically:

A student who does poorly in a more advanced class may weaken the student's overall academic record.

Sometimes, the additional effort required for success in a course for which a student is not well prepared takes away from the time and energy a student has available to devote to other coursework leading to an overall decline in performance.

To keep up with the class, the student may require more individual help than the teacher can reasonably be expected to provide. The pacing and demands of any course do not allow teachers to accommodate a student who is misplaced. The teacher cannot provide individual tutoring.

We do want students to challenge themselves but sometimes those challenges may yield grades (such as a C or lower) that are not acceptable to the student and/or parent/caregiver.

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.

Social Studies Criteria for Placement & Overrides

HONORS and ADVANCED PLACEMENT COURSES

In order to enter an HONORS class, students must:

●Receive a recommendation from their History and Social Studies teacher and demonstrate the ability to read and critically analyze written material and…

●…earn at least an 85 in an honors level course or

●…earn at least a 90 in a college preparatory (CP) level course.

●For World History II, students must achieve at least a 95 in Grade 8 Social Studies.

In order to enter an ADVANCED PLACEMENT class, students must:

●Receive a recommendation from their History and Social Studies teacher and demonstrate the ability to read and critically analyze written material and…

...earn at least an 80 in an Advanced Placement level History and Social Studies course or

…earn at least a 90 in an honors level History and Social Studies course or

…earn at least a 95 in a college preparatory (CP) level History and Social Studies course and must follow the override process

OVERRIDES require a student to be within 5 points of the required grade for entry