Code of conduct and grading policies

At Foundations Classical Academy (FCA), all students are expected to demonstrate respect toward their peers, teachers, and parents. This includes arriving to class on time and staying the full period, using appropriate language, dressing modestly, and behaving in a manner that supports a positive and respectful learning environment for all.

Student Responsibilities

Students are responsible for completing their classwork and homework on their own. Academic dishonesty—including plagiarism (presenting someone else’s words or ideas as one’s own) and the use of automated writing or thinking tools such as artificial intelligence—undermines the purpose of education (building intellectual skills and learning to think for oneself) and is strictly prohibited. Violations of this code of conduct may result in disciplinary action, ranging from a warning to removal from the classroom, the course, or the academy, depending on the severity of the offense.

Parents who wish to help with homework are encouraged to guide their child through the thought process, but not to provide him or her with the correct answer, complete assignments for him or her or edit/rewrite/write written work. This goes a long way in teaching students responsibility, self-sufficiency, and integrity and builds their confidence. We are more interested in seeing where students are at so that we can know how to guide them in their learning process rather than reviewing work that a parent has done for the child. This does not help the child, but rather, hinders his or her intellectual growth and moral development.

We ask that parents (or another responsible adult) serve as a proctor when students complete quizzes, exams, and graded recitations. This ensures that student assessments reflect what they have truly learned and prevents the use of online searches, books, notes, etc. as tools for completing these evaluations.

Bullying and Harassment Prevention

FCA is committed to preventing bullying and harassment and to maintaining a safe online learning environment. During live classes, private messaging between students is disabled, and the sharing of personal contact information (phone numbers, screen names, email addresses, and so on) is prohibited.

All Zoom meetings are secured with passwords, and recordings are not downloadable nor do they include student video. Parents are encouraged to use login names that display only their child’s first name. Students may keep their cameras off unless they are sharing in-class work with the instructor, in which case they may show the exercise only by holding it up to the webcam.

FCA does not use discussion forums or give collaborative assignments, and students are not allowed to post in the Canvas LMS (used for submitting assignments).

Grading Policies

FCA prioritizes student progress and mastery of content over traditional grading. We view grades as a secondary and relatively minor measure of true academic achievement.

Because homeschool parents are ultimately responsible for maintaining their children's academic records, Foundations Classical Academy (FCA) does not assign final letter grades. Instead, the instructor provides a total points score for each course. Parents may then convert this score to a grading scale of their choice or adjust the number of points awarded if they believe their child earned more or fewer points than indicated.

Adult courses are not graded; however, participants receive constructive feedback on their work as well as encouragement throughout the course.

We thank students for their adherence to these policies as they allow us to provide high-quality, rigorous education from which all can benefit.