Petition to Amend Loyola's Spring 2020 GPA/ Grading Policy

(Continued ...) - Why was this necessary? It’s cheaply disregarding students and teachers’ hard work during these stressful times. It hurts hard-working students that give their best to achieve a strong semester by invalidating their work. Loyola students’ resilience, resolve, and determination to continue Loyola’s high standard of education are reflected in their current grades. For me and many of my classmates, online schooling has been more rigorous, and we have learned as much, if not more, than if we were at school. At beginning of online school, every single teacher said that they would give just as much work as regular school, and some teachers have given even more (to a rather excessive point). And without having to balance schoolwork with sports and other activities, students have had the opportunity to take advantage of this situation. These current grades are a testament to students’ constant commitment to be “intellectually distinguished” and should be treated as such. - What about the teachers’ time and effort sacrificed? This also discounts the teachers’ quick adjustments and hard work for 6 weeks to maintain the same level of learning and adequately prepare students for AP tests during the digital learning period

(Continued) ... - Why was this necessary? It’s cheaply disregarding students and teachers’ hard work during these stressful times. It hurts hard-working students that give their best to achieve a strong semester by invalidating their work. Loyola students’ resilience, resolve, and determination to continue Loyola’s high standard of education are reflected in their current grades. For me and many of my classmates, online schooling has been more rigorous, and we have learned as much, if not more, than if we were at school. At beginning of online school, every single teacher said that they would give just as much work as regular school, and some teachers have given even more (to a rather excessive point). And without having to balance schoolwork with sports and other activities, students have had the opportunity to take advantage of this situation. These current grades are a testament to students’ constant commitment to be “intellectually distinguished” and should be treated as such. - What about the teachers’ time and effort sacrificed? This also discounts the teachers’ quick adjustments and hard work for 6 weeks to maintain the same level of learning and adequately prepare students for AP tests during the digital learning period

(Continued...) - Why was this decision (rather manipulatively) made so late after a rigorous workload in quarantine? What many students set out to accomplish during quarantine—whether it was self-development, relaxing, getting in shape, etc.—was severely limited because of academic time commitments (including extensive work and actual classes in our “Easter break”), and now Loyola has nullified that commitment. - What if school is cancelled in the fall? This sets a terrible precedent. Will we continue to de-incentivize students to produce excellent work? Will we continue to not reward students and teachers for their commitment to continue to learn/educate at a high level in online school? Will we continue to hurt student and teacher morale in these tough times when everyone needs some motivation and support?

(Continued) - Why is Loyola punishing the people least responsible for the negative outcomes of online school? It is the administrators and the teachers’ responsibility to ensure that students who are not adjusting to remote learning are brought back into the fold (with the help of their parents). A third of LAUSD students are not learning right now because they don't have the means to. Most, if not all, Loyola students are not dealing with this kind of hardship. Do not reward students that are taking advantage of the current situation to not continue their studies responsibly. - Why is Loyola de-incentivizing their high standard of education by making higher grades easier to attain? Loyola students are now at a disadvantage by not being able to properly compete against those schools that have factored spring grades into overall cumulative GPA. Loyola is not the only school affected by Covid-19, and they should adopt supporting policies like comparable competing schools that will be including spring semester grades into cumulative GPA. - For the next few weeks, what is now the motive for students to continue to pour their time into their classwork when excellent, driven students will be given the same grade as someone with “satisfactory, non-exceptional work” who would have ended up with a significantly lower grade in a usual semester? - Why didn’t Loyola consult its students—and especially the parents and donors, who are the ones paying for this education and were absolutely blinded by this decision? - Where did this decision originate? Schools such as Harvard-Westlake, Brentwood, Archer, Marymount, and Marlborough have not responded to this as Loyola has and have placed their students in a favorable situation regarding the handling of their spring semester grades, potentially causing students at Loyola to be negatively compared with these students in the college admissions process, as schools have a limited amount of applicants from each area of the country t

I am a hard-working Loyola student who, like most, has been negatively affected by this grading change. But let’s just look at it from an objective perspective: As a representative of many students’ opinions in the community, I continue to be disappointed by the administration’s complete lack of clarity, cohesiveness, logic, and empathy to its students, parents, and teachers in its response—and Principal Kozakowski’s recent email has only increased my frustrations. So, let’s hold Loyola accountable for their actions and not let it “pass the buck,” as to not claim responsibility for any negative outcome. I have many unexplained (rhetorical) questions: - Why was this necessary? It’s cheaply disregarding students and teachers’ hard work during these stressful times. It hurts hard-working students that give their best to achieve a strong semester by invalidating their work. Loyola students’ resilience, resolve, and determination to continue Loyola’s high standard of education are reflected in their current grades. For me and many of my classmates, online schooling has been more rigorous, and we have learned as much, if not more, than if we were at school. At beginning of online school, every single teacher said that they would give just as much work as regular school, and some teachers have given even more (to a rather excessive point). And without having to balance schoolwork with sports and other activities, students have had the opportunity to take advantage of this situation. These current grades are a testament to students’ constant commitment to be “intellectually distinguished” and should be treated as such. - What about the teachers’ time and effort sacrificed? This also discounts the teachers’ quick adjustments and hard work for 6 weeks to maintain the same level of learning and adequately prepare students for AP tests during the digital learning period

I am a hard-working Loyola student who, like most, has been negatively affected by this grading change. But let’s just look at it from an objective perspective: As a representative of many students’ opinions in the community, I continue to be disappointed by the administration’s complete lack of clarity, cohesiveness, logic, and empathy to its students, parents, and teachers in its response—and Principal Kozakowski’s recent email has only increased my frustrations. So, let’s hold Loyola accountable for their actions and not let it “pass the buck,” as to not claim responsibility for any negative outcome. I have many unexplained questions: - Why was this necessary? It’s cheaply disregarding students and teachers’ hard work during these stressful times. It hurts hard-working students that give their best to achieve a strong semester by invalidating their work. Loyola students’ resilience, resolve, and determination to continue Loyola’s high standard of education are reflected in their current grades. For me and many of my classmates, online schooling has been more rigorous, and we have learned as much, if not more, than if we were at school. At beginning of online school, every single teacher said that they would give just as much work as regular school, and some teachers have given even more (to a rather excessive point). And without having to balance schoolwork with sports and other activities, students have had the opportunity to take advantage of this situation. These current grades are a testament to students’ constant commitment to be “intellectually distinguished” and should be treated as such. - What about the teachers’ time and effort sacrificed? This also discounts the teachers’ quick adjustments and hard work for 6 weeks to maintain the same level of learning and adequately prepare students for AP tests during the digital learning period - Why is Loyola punishing the people least responsible for the negative outcomes of online school? It is the admin

I think that grades should count towards the GPA without any plus/minus distinctions. The absence of plus/minus distinctions will allow for any inconsistencies between classes to be evened out but will still allow for an accurate grading scale.

Our family feels strongly on this issue. We have 2 sons who work hard and continue to do so during the quarantine. Denying them inclusion of their grades into their GPAs is not the right thing to do. We have always admired the processes at Loyola when it comes to curriculum; the placement tests, decisions regarding APs and math placements, etc., but we are disappointed in the school's approach this time.

Agree

I am a hard-working Loyola student who, like most, has been negatively affected by this grading change. But let’s just look at it from an objective perspective: As a representative of many students’ opinions in the community, I continue to be disappointed by the administration’s complete lack of clarity, cohesiveness, logic, and empathy to its students, parents, and teachers in its response—and this has cumulated after Principal Kozakowski’s recent email. So, let’s hold Loyola accountable for their actions and not let it “pass the buck,” as to not be responsible for any negative outcome that this virus produces. I have many unexplained questions: - Why was this necessary? It’s cheaply disregarding students and teachers’ hard work during these stressful times. It hurts hard-working students that give their best to achieve a strong semester by invalidating their work. Loyola students’ resilience, resolve, and determination to continue Loyola’s high standard of education are reflected in their current grades. For me and many of my classmates, online schooling has been more rigorous, and we have learned as much, if not more, than if we were at school. At beginning of online school, every single teacher said that they would give just as much work as regular school, and some teachers have given even more (to a rather excessive point). And without having to balance schoolwork with sports and other activities, students have had the opportunity to take advantage of this situation. These current grades are a testament to students’ constant commitment to be “intellectually distinguished” and should be treated as such. - What about the teachers’ time and effort sacrificed? This also discounts the teachers’ quick adjustments and hard work for 6 weeks to maintain the same level of learning and adequately prepare students for AP tests during the digital learning period - Why is Loyola punishing the people least responsible for the negative outcomes of online school? It is th

I am a hard-working Loyola student who, like most, has been negatively affected by this grading change. But let’s just look at it from an objective perspective: As a representative of many students’ opinions in the community, I continue to be disappointed by the administration’s complete lack of clarity, cohesiveness, logic, and empathy to its students, parents, and teachers in its response. So, let’s hold Loyola accountable for their actions and not let it “pass the buck,” as to not be responsible for any negative outcome that this virus produces. I have many unexplained questions: - Why was this necessary? It’s cheaply disregarding students and teachers’ hard work during these stressful times. It hurts hard-working students that give their best to achieve a strong semester by invalidating their work. Loyola students’ resilience, resolve, and determination to continue Loyola’s high standard of education are reflected in their current grades. For me and many of my classmates, online schooling has been more rigorous, and we have learned as much, if not more, than if we were at school. At beginning of online school, every single teacher said that they would give just as much work as regular school, and some teachers have given even more (to a rather excessive point). And without having to balance schoolwork with sports and other activities, students have had the opportunity to take advantage of this situation. These current grades are a testament to students’ constant commitment to be “intellectually distinguished” and should be treated as such. - What about the teachers’ time and effort sacrificed? This also discounts the teachers’ quick adjustments and hard work for 6 weeks to maintain the same level of learning and adequately prepare students for AP tests during the digital learning period - Why is Loyola punishing the people least responsible for the negative outcomes of online school? It is the administrators and the teachers’ responsibility to ensure that

Please comply with this request

thank you this is so important for our boys

all the students worked hard regardless of the situation should be fairly graded.

AMDG

If the semester is not to be counted where is the compensation in the form of a tuition rebate?

We are very pleased and proud of our son Flynn’s dedication and focus throughout online schooling, therefore want this semester’s GPA to be included in his overall GPA. Hard work pays off! Thank you.

The current spring semester grading policy is unfair to students.

I don’t agree with Loyola not counting this semester grades in their GPA

The status quo should continue to be implemented. As in sports, you can't change fundamental rules of the game without destroying trust in the game, regardless of weather conditions, injuries or other outside factors. It’s harder for some, but life is all about adapting at all levels, and learning to adapt starts at home and at our schools.