The LaFayette High School Scholars Program

Is a comprehensive and enriched experience designed for students who aim higher through a unique combination of academic, social, and extracurricular opportunities

 

Purpose of the LaFayette High School Scholars Program

The Scholars Program seeks to engage and prepare students for college by:

  • Emphasizing the experiential learning for students both in and out of the school building.

  • Challenging students to work independently while simultaneously learning to be part of a dynamic scholarly community.

  • Offering a range of experiences and opportunities designed to promote creative and critical thinking skills.

  • Creating real-world opportunities for students to engage in intellectually stimulating situations to enhance students’ college and life readiness.

 

Student Benefits

  • Special recognition at graduation

  • College visits as a regular component of the program

  • Advanced development of college readiness skills

  • Small group and independent learning opportunities

  • LaFayette High School Scholars Diploma Seal

  • Possibility of entering college as a sophomore

 

Academic Components

  • Honors and/or Advanced Placement Courses

A LaFayette Scholar must complete the below course sequence. 


Scholars must double up in math either his or her 9th or 10th grade year.

**ACT/SAT Prep course will be required if a student has not earned either a 26 on the ACT or a 1200 on the SAT by December of his or her junior year.

***Foreign language does not have to begin at the middle school level but is suggested.

****A third foreign language is recommended for more rigorous college admissions.

*****Students who wish to be eligible for the LaFayette Scholars program needs to take honors math beginning in the 6th grade.

  •  Extended Learning Opportunities

Each full year that a student is part of the LaFayette Scholars program, the student must complete a minimum of one extended learning opportunity that is approved by the LaFayette High School Scholars Advisory Board.

For example:

1.  Research/Internship/Apprenticeship (Requires at least a 20-hour commitment)

2.  Artistic, service-oriented, or academic camp (Requires at least 5 days attendance)

3.  Service project (Requires at least a 20-hour commitment)

A LaFayette Scholars student may choose to complete this requirement during the summer or during the academic school year. 

  • Students must maintain an average of 80 or above in all honors/AP/dual enrollment classes.  Failure to maintain those grades will result in a one-semester academic probation.  If a student’s grades do not improve to 80 or above during the semester of academic probation, the student will be excused from the LaFayette Scholars program.

  • Students are expected to take the Pre-ACT during the freshman year and the PSAT during the fall of the sophomore year.  By the end of December the junior year, the student must achieve a score of 26 or higher on the ACT or a score of 1200 or higher on the SAT.  If a student does not meet the SAT/ACT requirement, he or she will be enrolled in a SAT/ACT preparatory class during the spring semester of the junior year.

 

Academic Dishonesty

LaFayette High School’s Scholars Program Honor Code is the cornerstone of our values as a school and community.  When students enter the program, they sign a pledge to comply with the following Honor Code.

  • No student shall perform, attempt to perform, or assist another in performing any act of dishonesty on academic work, extended learning opportunities, and capstone project to be submitted for academic credit or advancement.  It’s the student’s responsibility to ensure understanding of how much support or collaboration is permitted on each assignment.  A student does not have to intend to violate the honesty policy to be found in violation.  For example, plagiarism, intended or unintended, is a violation of this policy.

Examples of academic dishonesty include but are not limited to…

  • Plagiarism

  • Unauthorized Assistance

  • Lying/Tampering

  • Theft

 

Capstone Project

The capstone project is a multifaceted assignment that serves as a culminating academic and intellectual experience for students during their senior year of high school. Capstone projects can take a wide variety of forms, but most are long-term investigative projects that culminate in a final product, presentation, or performance. Students will be asked to select a topic, profession, or social problem that interests them, conduct research on the subject, maintain a portfolio of findings or results, create a final product demonstrating their learning acquisition or conclusions (a paper or a multimedia presentation, for example), and give an oral presentation on the project to a panel of teachers, experts, and community members who collectively evaluate the project’s quality.

 

The capstone project is designed to encourage students to think critically, solve challenging problems, and develop skills such as oral communication, public speaking, research skills, media literacy, teamwork, planning, self-sufficiency, or goal setting—i.e., skills that will help prepare students for college, modern careers, and adult life. In most cases, the projects are also interdisciplinary, in the sense that they require students to apply skills or investigate issues across many different subject areas or domains of knowledge. Capstone projects also encourage students to connect their projects to community issues or problems, and to integrate outside-of-school learning experiences, including activities such as interviews, scientific observations, or internships.

While capstone projects can take a wide variety of forms, a few examples will help to illustrate both the concept and the general educational intentions:

  • Designing and building a product, computer program, app, or robot to address a specific need, such as assisting the disabled

  • Interning at a nonprofit organization or a legislator’s office to learn more about strategies and policies intended to address social problems, such as poverty, hunger, or homelessness

  • Conducting a scientific study over several months or a year to determine the ecological or environmental impact of changes to a local habitat

  • Researching an industry or market, and creating a viable business plan for a proposed company that is then “pitched” to a panel of local business leaders

  • Creating a public service campaign including writing, directing, and filming a public-service announcement that will be aired on public-access television