Lithia Springs High School
Volume 1 Issue 6
Message from Principal Joshua
Dear Lithia Lion Families,
Testing season is about to begin! We have taken precautionary measures to ensure we can safely administer final exams and the Georgia Milestones End of Course (EOC) assessments. We held hope that a waiver would be granted for this school year, that has not occurred and we will be administering the Georgia Milestones End of Course (EOC) tests in December for the following courses: American Literature, Algebra I, United States History, and Biology. Final exams for all other classes will be administered on December 8th and December 9th to both in person and SBDL students.
Part of our safe testing plan is to only allow the students who are taking the EOCs to be on campus for their specific day of testing. The plan also includes mandatory masks, social distancing, and no more than 15 students in each test session per teacher during all assessments. December 10th – 18th will be Digital Learning Days, and only students who are taking an EOC should be present at school during their scheduled testing day(s).
Students are exempt from the assessments if they are currently enrolled in an AP/IB/Dual Enrollment EOC course. If you are not enrolled in an EOC course, or if you are exempt, then you should not report to school on December 10th – 18th; however, you are required to log into the Google Classroom on Digital Learning Days to engage in class and/or complete assignments that may be posted in the Google Classroom. Please note, December 15th -18th will also be half days for high school with each day ending at 12:30 P.M.
We understand why some parents have chosen School Based Digital Learning (SBDL) for their student this year due to a global pandemic. We also acknowledge that parents do make the final decisions about their child’s education. While we do understand the difficult decisions that parents are being asked to make, neither the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) nor the local district or school has the authority to waive the student assessment requirement mandated by federal and state law (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-281).
Designated high school courses require that the Georgia Milestones End of Course (EOC) measures serve as the final exam and that they comprise a defined portion of a student’s final course grade. Currently, the numeric score on the Georgia Milestones EOC counts 20% of the student’s final numeric grade in the course. In the absence of an EOC score, LSHS would be compelled to calculate that course grade with the EOC portion counting as a zero (0). Simply put, this would result in a course grade that would not reflect the true achievement of the student.
With our careful advance planning, we are certain that we can conduct these assessments safely and with minimal risk of exposure. We currently average 350 students in the building per day. By only allowing those students that are actually taking EOCs in the building, our projected number of students each day will average out to be 181 students. All virtual students are expected to physically come to the school for EOC testing if they are enrolled in American Literature, Algebra I, United States History, and/or Biology on their respective testing dates.
Georgia Milestones EOC Winter Testing Dates:
December 10: American Literature Section 1
December 11: American Literature Section 2 and 3
December 14: Algebra I Section 1 and 2
December 15: U.S. History Section 1 and 2 (Dismissal @ 12:30)
December 16: Biology Section 1 and 2 (Dismissal @ 12:30)
December 17: EOC Make-Ups (Dismissal @ 12:30)
Testing will begin promptly at 8:35 A.M. each day of testing. Virtual students may ride the bus or be dropped off at school, but must arrive by 8:15 A.M. Students are encouraged to have transportation home once testing ends each day at approximately 12:30 P.M. Students should also bring their fully charged Chromebook/laptop to continue classes once testing has concluded each day.
As always, please feel free to reach out to me or our Testing Coordinator, Ms. Felicia Jones, if you have any questions.
Respectfully,
Travis C. Joshua, Principal
LSHS Learning Option Survey (SECOND SEMESTER)
Second Semester begins January 6, 2021 We need every parent to select their desired learning option for their student by Friday, December 11, 2020 in order to make the necessary plans and preparations for second semester.
Please click the below link and select the learning option for your student. All parents must complete this survey to help us plan for their students. If you are selecting SBDL (virtual), your student is expected to remain virtual through the end of the third quarter (9 weeks) of school.
Lithia Springs High School
Email: travis.joshua@dcssga.org
Website: https://lshs.dcssga.org/
Location: 2520 East County Line Road, Lithia Springs, GA, USA
Phone: 770-651-6700
Twitter: @principaljoshua