• Link to Mar 11 Meeting Packet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X07r3temmCbWe4kWa...
  Link to full letter to the District and Board Trustees on Friday, March 20
  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LBbq_T8I0TuKYYh4dltivYB4_R_lG1ah/view?usp=sharing

Sent: Friday, March 20, 2026 2:45 PM

Dear CUSD Administrators and Board Trustees,

I have identified a win-win solution to the Sage Creek GPA discrepancies that can be implemented immediately. It brings Sage Creek into compliance with CUSD AR 5121, readopted on December 20, 2024, and allows the District to calculate a separate UC GPA, a practice already in place at Patterson High School in California (see picture and link below).

The Heart of the Matter

Our students are already navigating an increasingly difficult world: rising pressures, heavy mental‑health impacts, the relentless demands of academic and athletic schedules, a divisive political climate, and the daunting transition to adulthood. They should not also be burdened by a systemic competitive disadvantage that is as simple to remove as it was to create.

We look to you as Leaders in the Carlsbad education community and respectfully ask that you protect students, not the system, especially a system that has created an inequitable outcome for them. One of Sage Creek’s motto is “WE TRAILBLAZE.” We urge you to honor these words. Do not continue to follow a flawed status quo, but instead, trailblaze with the courage to clear a new path that proves our students’ success is your highest priority.

PROPOSED SOLUTION

Since the Aeries transcript system already supports displaying multiple GPAs, the District only needs to reconfigure or add 2 items:

1. a cumulative weighted GPA aligned with AR 5121 and

2. a separate UC‑approved GPA.

According to Aeries, the UC/CSU GPA setup already exists and simply needs to be activated.

Because these GPA types are already built into Aeries, the work is minimal and should take only a few hours to complete.

=> At this point, the issue is no longer whether a solution exists; it is a matter of administrative will. We urge the District and Board to implement this low-burden solution immediately, as current juniors are entering a critical period for college applications and athletic recruiting is already underway. Regardless of whether GPA will be recalculated by any institution, the District remains responsible for an accurate transcript of the student's academic performance in accordance to CUSD BP and AR 5121.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION (AR) 5121 AND HOW SAGE CREEK'S GRADING PRACTICES AFFECT STUDENTS

Carlsbad Unified School District's AR 5121: Grades/Evaluation Of Student Achievement policy states:

“Because of the more rigorous nature of Advanced Placement and Honors courses, students receiving a grade of A, B, or C in those courses shall receive extra grade weighting as follows:
A (90–100%) — 5.0 grade points
B (80–89%) — 4.0 grade points
C (70–79%) — 3.0 grade points”
https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/Policy/ViewPoli...

Sage Creek has NOT been following AR 5121! As a result, this ongoing departure from policy LOWERS students’ weighted GPAs, reduces competitiveness for college admissions, scholarships, and athletic recruitment, and creates inequities between the district’s two high schools.

This issue is particularly important for current Juniors (Class of 2027) right now, whose transcripts will soon be reviewed by colleges and have already been evaluated by college coaches for student-athletes since September.

Sage Creek students deserve fair and consistent GPA weighting and accurate transcripts that reflect the rigor of the courses they complete!
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

How Sage Creek’s Practices Differ from AR 5121 and Affect Students

1. Honors courses are not receiving full weighted credit
   Sage Creek only gives weighted points for some Honors courses, and which courses receive the extra point change every year! One year, 3 courses were weighted; the following year, only Pre-Calculus was weighted; and the next year, more Honors courses were added. Even with UC-approved Honors courses, meaning they meet the state’s standards for advanced courses, as of now, Sage Creek still does not consistently award the extra points, lowering students’ GPAs. The changing rules create confusion for students, families and teaching staff, and no clear policy is publicly published.
2. AP weighted GPA is effectively reduced from 1 to 0.666 point per course because of the Trimester 3 course labeling
   Each AP course at Sage Creek is a full‑year course = ONE course taught over 3 trimesters. Under AR 5121, the entire course should receive full AP weighting.But Sage Creek only gives AP weight for the first 2 trimesters. The 3rd trimester gets 0 AP weight. Hence, a full AP course earns only 0.666 GPA points, instead of the required 1.0: (1+1+0)÷3=0.666Students complete a full year of AP‑level work but receive only two‑thirds of the weight they earned. That missing 0.333 point adds up across multiple AP classes and lowers GPAs.The 3rd trimester is labeled a “required elective” and renamed “AP Seminar” to exclude it from AP weighting, even though it is part of the same AP course. GPA rules do not allow the number of school terms to change weighting.Sage Creek students also complete about 40 more seat hours per AP course than Carlsbad High students, confirming these are full‑year AP courses that should receive full AP weight.
3. UC-approved community college courses are not recognized for weighted credit
   BP/AR 5121 allows weighted credit for college courses equivalent in rigor to AP or Honors courses, consistent with the California School Boards Association (CSBA) model policy. UC and other California high schools, such as Grossmont High School, award an extra GPA point for UC-approved, transferable community college courses. However, Sage Creek does not award this weighted credit, penalizing students who pursue advanced coursework outside the high school and families seeking to reduce future college costs.
4. Transcripts contain discrepancies and lack transparency
   Families cannot verify that AR 5121 is applied correctly because weighted points are missing, course titles do not reflect class rigor, and GPA calculations are not transparent or auditable because numerical grades are not shown on transcripts. These inconsistencies prevent students from auditing their own transcripts, making it difficult to identify errors or confirm that GPAs are calculated accurately.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

REQUESTS TO CUSD

We respectfully request that the District:

1. Require Sage Creek to fully comply to AR 5121, awarding full weighted credit for all Honors, AP, and UC-transferable college courses.
2. Recognize UCOP-approved Honors courses as Honors for district weighting purposes.
3. Correct AP course labeling so all AP courses receive full weighting of 1 point, not 0.666.
4. Recognize UC-approved community college courses for weighted credit under AR 5121.
5. Conduct an immediate audit of all high school transcripts and correct any errors without delay.
6. Ensure consistent implementation across both high schools, so GPAs are comparable districtwide.
7. Provide transparent, stable guidance to families, including a clear list of weighted courses, transcript labeling standards, and how GPAs are calculated.