Policy 6457 – Student Awards and Scholarships

Students in the district shall be informed annually of available scholarships and awards. Literature concerning available scholarships and awards shall be available through the guidance office and/or posted in the appropriate school building.

The district will select nominees and alternates for the Wisconsin Academic Excellence Higher Education Scholarship and the Wisconsin Technical Excellence Higher Education Scholarship in accordance with established procedures for those awards.

The district shall not unlawfully discriminate in the acceptance or administration of awards, scholarships, or other aids, benefits, or services to students鈥搃ncluding those from private agencies, organizations, or persons鈥搊n the basis of sex; sexual orientation; race; color; national origin; ancestry; religion; creed; pregnancy; marital or parental status; any physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability; or any other legally-protected status or classification. Discrimination complaints shall be processed in accordance with established procedures. Accordingly, any scholarship or award granted by, administered by, or advertised/promoted by the district shall be in compliance with the above-stated policy of nondiscrimination.

LEGAL REFERENCES

  • Wisconsin Statutes
    • Section 39.41 Academic Excellence Higher Education Scholarships
    • Section 39.415 Technical Excellence Higher Education Scholarship
    • Section 118.13 Pupil Discrimination Prohibited
  • Wisconsin Administrative Code
    • PI 9.03(1)(d) Acceptance and administration of gifts, bequests, scholarships and other aids, benefits, or services to pupils from private agencies, organizations or persons
    • HEA 9 Wisconsin Academic Excellence Scholarship
  • Federal Law
    • Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and related civil rights laws

CROSS REFERENCES

  • 六合彩结果今期 School Board Policy 5110.2 Nondiscrimination Guidelines
  • 六合彩结果今期 School Board Policy 5120 Student Enrollment Reporting
  • 六合彩结果今期 School Board Policy 6456 Graduation Requirements

ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS: None

AFFIRMED: March 26, 2024

Rule 6457 – Student Awards and Scholarships

Procedures for Awarding the Wisconsin Academic Excellence Scholarship

The senior(s) with the highest weighted grade point average (GPA) based on the five consecutive semesters of the student鈥檚 六合彩结果今期 high school experience shall be selected as the high school鈥檚 nominee(s) to receive the Wisconsin Academic Excellence High Education Scholarship. Ties will be broken and alternates will be designated as further provided by law and in these procedures. A student who receives the Academic Excellence Scholarship is not eligible to receive a Wisconsin Technical Excellence Higher Education Scholarship, and vice versa. Scholarship recipients and alternates shall be selected annually based on the students鈥 GPA as it is normally determined by the high school and as shown, to the same number of decimal places, on the student鈥檚 official transcript as of the last day of the fall semester prior to the spring semester in which the scholarship is awarded.

The following are additional minimum eligibility requirements that the district has established for the Academic Excellence Scholarship:

  1. A student has senior status for purposes of competing for the scholarship if:
    1. The student is in his/her fourth year of high school or an equivalent level program; and
    2. By no later than the end of the spring semester in which the scholarship is awarded, the student has completed or is expected to complete all of the district鈥檚 high school graduation requirements. A student cannot compete for the scholarship in more than one school year.
  2. The student must be enrolled in the district鈥檚 awarding high school as a full-time student (as identified in 六合彩结果今期 Policies 5120 and 6456) or participating in a district-approved foreign exchange program during the spring semester of his/her senior year, or he/she must have graduated from the high school early at the conclusion of the fall semester prior to the semester in which the scholarship is awarded.
  3. The student must have been enrolled full-time in a Kenosha Unified High School for at least five consecutive semesters prior to the start of the spring semester in which the scholarship is awarded.
  4. While enrolled in the awarding high school, the student must have earned a minimum of 21 graded credits, including health and physical education, that are included in the student鈥檚 calculated GPA. Credits accrued through Start College Now or Early College Credit may be included in credit accumulation given that the student received high school credit for the course.

If a senior selected for the scholarship declines the scholarship in writing or is determined to be ineligible for the scholarship for any lawful reason, the district鈥檚 scholarship recipient shall be selected from the list of alternate designees with the next highest GPAs in rank order, so long as any such allocation of the scholarship to an alternate is also permissible under the rules and procedures implemented by the Higher Educational Aids Board. Per state law no alternate may have less than a 3.800 GPA or its equivalent.

In the case of a tie for the senior with the highest GPA and/or in the case of a tie in determining the rank order of alternate designees, the school administrator, in consultation with other licensed high school staff as needed, shall determine the scholarship nominee and certify, in rank order, the school’s alternates. The following procedure, approved by the high school faculty on February 15, will be implemented to break ties:

  1. First tiebreaker: If a tie remains, the student who has taken and completed the greatest combined number of high school honors courses, advanced placement courses, and dual credit courses with a B or higher
  2. Second tiebreaker: If a tie remains, the student with the highest GPA in the core academic subject areas of mathematics, science, English/composition, and social studies, using the highest grades the student has earned in each such subject for up to the minimum number of credits in each subject that is required for high school graduationFor example, if the student has earned four credits in social studies courses but only three social studies credits are required for high school graduation, the student鈥檚 lowest grade within that subject area will not be used in the tie-breaking calculation.
  3. Third tiebreaker: The students鈥 American College Test composite score from March of junior yearIf an ACT score is not available for all of the students who are tied, move to the fourth tiebreaker.
  4. Fourth tiebreaker: If a tie remains, the student with the most high school credits earned by the end of the semester prior to the semester in which the scholarship is awarded

Procedures for Awarding the Wisconsin Technical Excellence Higher Education Scholarship

The number of seniors permitted by state law with a demonstrated exemplary level of proficiency in technical education subjects, as determined under these procedures, will be selected as the high school鈥檚 designee(s) to receive the Wisconsin Technical Excellence Higher Education Scholarship. Any ties will be broken and alternates will be designated as further provided by law and in these procedures. A student who receives a Wisconsin Technical Excellence Higher Education Scholarship is not eligible to receive a Wisconsin Academic Excellence Higher Education Scholarship, and vice versa.

The district鈥檚 designation of its scholar(s) and alternate(s) is not a final determination that the student has met or will meet all applicable requirements for receipt of the scholarship funds. If a senior selected for the scholarship declines the scholarship or is determined to be ineligible for the scholarship for any lawful reason, the Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board (HEAB) may award the district鈥檚 scholarship to a designated alternate recipient.

DESIGNATING SCHOLARS AND ALTERNATES

An eligible candidate for a Wisconsin Technical Excellence Higher Education Scholarship is a high school senior meeting one or more of the following criteria:

  1. Is a career and technical education concentrator, which is a high school student who has completed at least three high school career and technical education courses in a program area/s leading to a degree or diploma in the student鈥檚 chosen pathwayA student may be enrolled in (rather than have completed) the third course at the time of their nomination for technical education scholarship.
  2. Has participated in a Youth Apprenticeship Program under the supervision of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development
  3. Has participated in a Technical High School Diploma program as certified by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
  4. Has participated in a Career and Technical Training pathway as defined by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
  5. Has participated in a Skills Standards Program offered by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
  6. Has completed or is on track to complete an industry-recognized certification program approved by Wisconsin Statutes 115.367 (2)
  7. Has participated in a Career and Technical Student Organization in Wisconsin: DECA; Future Business Leaders of America; Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America; National FFA Organization; HOSA or SkillsUSA
  8. Has completed a technical training program for high school students offered by a University of Wisconsin System school, a Wisconsin Technical College System school, a tribal college in Wisconsin, or a private nonprofit college or university located in Wisconsin

The program must be offered by a Wisconsin college or university; programs held at these campuses but offered by others are not eligible.

The district shall identify its Wisconsin Technical Excellence Higher Education Scholarship designee(s) and alternate(s) using the following procedures:

  1. Any high school senior who is eligible to compete for the scholarship shall declare his/her interest in being considered as a candidate by submitting, on a timely basis, a form or other means of notice as directed by the administration.
  2. Members of the district鈥檚 high school staff shall verify that each student who has submitted a timely declaration of interest meets the minimum eligibility requirements that are to be verified at the school level, including all such requirements established under these procedures or by the HEAB or the scholarship program鈥檚 authorizing statute.
  3. For purposes of ranking the qualified scholarship candidates and designating scholars and alternates, the district adopts the points-based ranking system established by the HEAB, under which students鈥 GPAs in career and technical education courses serve as the initial tiebreaker if two or more relevant students have acquired the identical number of points.
  4. The high school will designate and rank the alternate(s) for each designated scholar.

The school administrator, in consultation with other licensed high school staff as needed, shall be responsible for reviewing the relevant records and ranking and ordering the designated scholars and alternates, including applying tie-breaking procedures to the extent necessary.

The school administrator shall be responsible for ensuring that the district timely designates and notifies the HEAB of the district鈥檚 scholars and alternates.

In order for a student to be a qualified local candidate for the Wisconsin Technical Excellence Higher Education Scholarship, a student must meet all of the following district-established requirements:

  1. To compete for the scholarship, the student must meet all of the following minimum in-district school enrollment requirement(s):
    1. The student must have been enrolled in the district鈥檚 awarding high school (or in a district-sponsored alternative high school program or pathway) for at least one complete semester prior to the start of the spring semester in which the district designates its scholars and alternates.
    2. While enrolled in the district as a full-time high school student, the student must have earned a minimum of 21 credits. Such credits must be completed and earned as of the date the district designates its scholars(s) and alternate(s).
    3. No student may compete for the scholarship in more than one school year. A student has senior status for purposes of competing for the Wisconsin Technical Excellence Higher Education Scholarship and may compete for the scholarship in a school year in which all of the following are true:
    4. By no later than February 15 of the school year in which the student wishes to compete for the scholarship, the student must have completed at least 21 credits toward the district鈥檚 minimum high school graduation credit requirements.
    5. The student is in at least his/her fourth year of high school or an equivalent level program.
    6. By no later than the end of the spring semester/prior to the start of the next fall school term that follows the spring semester in which the high school designates its scholars and alternates, the student must have completed or be expected to complete all of the district鈥檚 high school graduation requirements and be expected to graduate with his/her high school diploma.
    7. The student must be enrolled in the district鈥檚 high school as a full-time student or participating in a district-approved alternative education program or foreign exchange program during the spring semester of the school year in which the student competes for the scholarship, or he/she must have been awarded his/her high school diploma by the district earlier in that same school year.
  2. As an additional limitation for determining when a student may compete for the scholarship, a student who is in his/her fourth year of high school (or an equivalent level program) and who, as of the beginning of the school term, could reasonably schedule sufficient courses during the term to receive his/her diploma at the end of the term, must compete for the scholarship in his/her fourth year of high school unless the school administrator concludes that there is good cause outside of the reasonable control of the student to waive this requirement.

AWARDING POINTS FOR CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION COURSES AND CAREER AND TECHNICAL STUDENT ORGANIZATION PARTICIPATION

Points associated with career and technical education courses will be awarded based upon a standard of each .5 high school credit earned toward high school graduation earning .5 of a point. Career and technical education courses that are in progress during the grading period in which the district designates its scholars and alternates shall be counted in the point total based on the high school credit expected to be earned. The district will use the definition of career and technical education courses identified by the HEAB.

For points earned for participation during high school in a career and technical student organization (CTSO) that is offered in the district, the burden is on the student to demonstrate for each participation point claimed that he/she actively and regularly participated in a qualifying CTSO for substantially all of the school year in question. 鈥淪ubstantially all of the school year鈥 means at least 戮 of the full school term in grades 9, 10, and 11 and beginning prior to November and continuing through February in grade 12.

HIGH SCHOOL GRADING POLICY

The district has a written high school grading system that shall be applied to the process of designating scholars and alternates for a Wisconsin Technical Excellence Higher Education Scholarship. To the extent it is necessary to calculate a student鈥檚 overall GPA or a student鈥檚 career and technical education GPA, the unrounded GPA shall be applied, so far as practical, in the same manner as it is applied to calculate the student鈥檚 cumulative grade point average as reported on the student鈥檚 high school transcript (including to the same number of decimal places).

TIE-BREAKING PROCEDURES

If, following a comparison of tied students鈥 GPAs in career and technical education courses, the school administrator, in consultation with other licensed high school staff as needed, determines that two or more relevant students remained tied, the following additional tie-breaking procedures, which were developed and approved by representatives of the high school faculty, shall be applied in the order listed as may be necessary:

  1. First tiebreaker: The total number of:
    1. Technical college credits earned while the student has been in high school and
    2. Technical college credits that are in progress during the current semester
  2. Second tiebreaker: The students鈥 cumulative high school grade point average
  3. Third tiebreaker: Each student鈥檚 highest American College Test (ACT) score if an ACT score is available for all of the students who remain tied
  4. Fourth tiebreaker: The student with the most high school credits earned by the end of the semester prior to the semester in which the scholarship is awarded