Frequently Asked Questions

1) Is it possible for A+ to pay for dual credit courses while at Park hill?

  • No, A+ will not pay for dual credit courses taken during high school

  • A+ benefits can only be accessed after students are high school graduates

  • However, dual credit grades are figured in the student's GPA for continued A+ eligibility  

2) What types of activities are eligible for A+ hours?

  • A+ hours are not general "community service" hours-- state law places restrictions on what type of activities are eligible for A+ credit

  • All A+ assignments must have prior approval from the A+ Coordinator

  • Basic qualifications for A+ hours

    • Activity must be sponsored by the Park Hill School District

      • Harvesters, Hillcrest, Synergy, local hospitals, Scouts, YMCA, Church/Civic organizations are not eligible for A+ hours

    • Activity must take place on PHSD property

    • Activity must be supervised by PHSD staff or patrons

    • Activity must be mentoring or tutoring of younger or lower ability student 

3) My child needs an A+ tutor, how can we request one? 

  • The student must request the tutor for themselves in the A+ Office 

  • Parent/Teacher/Counselor cannot request the A+ tutor, it must the student

    • In the past, students that had tutors requested for them were resistant to tutoring-- resulting in difficulty for the A+ tutors

  • Tutoring is 2 days a week in Tutorial (homeroom)

  • A+ tutoring must take place at our building site, supervised by South staff-- tutoring in private homes cannot be eligible for A+ hours

  • Few, if any tutors are available for AP courses due to the challenging nature of the course content-

    • Encourage your student to visit the classroom teacher before or after school and during Tutorials

  • The Tutorial schedule is disrupted for state-mandated testing in December & May

    • Encourage your student to visit the classroom teacher before or after school for assistance-- Tutorials are few-and-far-between in December & May 

4) Is it possible for A+ to pay for summer school if my child is planning to attend a 4-year university in the fall? 

  • A+ benefits will only pay the summer before Freshmen year at a university

  • Student must enroll full-time as degree-related credit courses each semester

    • Full time = 6 hours in summer; 12 hours in fall/spring

  • A+ will not pay while student is still enrolled at a 4-year university (summer after Freshmen year)

  • Student must be degree-seeking in order to receive A+ funds

  • Student must complete proper FAFSA to receive A+ funds

    • For Summer of 2017:  must fill out 2016-17 FAFSA

    • For Fall of 2017: must fill out 2017-18 FAFSA 

5) Can my child use A+ funds in January as a mid-year graduate? 

  • Yes, it is possible to use A+ funds in the Spring semester following mid-year graduation

  • Student must meet all A+ requirements (GPA, attendance, hours, EOC, citizenship) by the last day of school in December

  • Contact Admissions and Financial Aid of the college or university you have chosen to attend

  • Arrange for final transcript to be sent through Naviance to your college or university of choice

  • Student must complete the 2017-18 FAFSA (2015 tax return)

  • A+ eligibility will be from December 2017- December 2021 for December 2017 graduates (MYGs); May 2017- May 2021 for May 2017 graduates. 

6) Can you tell me more about the GPA requirement?

  • A+ student must achieve a cumulative weighted GPA of 2.50 or higher

  • There is no rounding of GPA (i.e. a 2.49 is not a 2.50)

  • Student's official transcript will serve as evidence of GPA for admission to a technical school, community college, or university

7) Can you tell me more about the 95% attendance minimum?

  • Students must maintain at least a 95% cumulative attendance

  • Attendance is cumulative-- 95% allows a student to miss 8 days per school year (32 days cumulative) and still be above the 95% A+ minimum

  • Only excused absences are those designated as school-sponsored field trips, Homebound, or pre-approved college visits     

  • All non-school activity absences from clubs (robotics, soccer, volleyball, gymnastics, cheer, etc) count against A+ attendance and are not eligible for appeal

  • An appeal process is available to those who wish to have an attendance record reviewed

8) Can you tell me more about the citizenship requirement?

  • Student must maintain a record of good citizenship and avoidance of unlawful use of drugs or alcohol

  • Disqualification results when a student accumulates 10 days out-of-school suspension (OSS) for one offense or multiple offenses

  • ISS has no bearing on A+ eligibility

  • An appeals process is available for those that wish to have a discipline record reviewed 

9) Can you tell me more about the Algebra I EOC requirement?

  • Student must score Proficient or Advanced on the Algebra I end-of-course exam (EOC)

  • This requirement applies to all students-- regardless of IEP or 504-- IEP and 504 students are entitled to their accommodations, but the EOC score requirement is equal for all students

  • Substitutions are available to meet the Algebra I EOC requirement

    • Score Proficient or Advanced on the Geometry EOC

    • Score Proficient or Advanced on the Algebra II EOC

    • Meet a qualifying score on the Math section of the ACT

    • ACT Math 15 and 3.0 GPA

    • ACT Math 16 and 2.8 GPA

    • ACT Math 17 and 2.5 GPA