Explanation of Requirements
1. Submit a signed A+ Schools
contract.
The contract contains three
forms--the program agreement,
the citizenship policy, and the
peer tutoring/mentoring
contract. All forms must be
signed by the student and a
parent/guardian. Students are
encouraged to sign the contract
by the end of their freshmen
year so that they may begin
their peer tutoring; however,
students may sign a contract any
time prior to the beginning of
their senior year.
2. Attend a designated A+ high
school.
Students must attend a
designated A+ high school for at
least three consecutive years
prior to graduation. Students
transferring to LHS from a
non-designated high school must
be enrolled at LHS by the
student’s sophomore year in
order to be eligible for
participation in the A+ Schools
program.
Students transferring to LHS
from a designated high school
may enroll at any time provided
they were in good standing in
their previous school’s A+
program at the time of their
withdrawal.
If a LHS student transfers to
another school and then
re-enrolls at LHS after the
beginning of his/her sophomore
year, the student will be
eligible to continue
participation in the A+ Schools
program only if he/she
was enrolled in a designated A+
school during his/her absence
from LHS.
If a student withdraws from LHS
to be home schooled and then
later re-enrolls, he/she must
still have at least three
consecutive years of attendance
prior to graduation.
3. Graduate with a cumulative
grade point average of 2.5.
On the LHS grading scale, a 2.5
GPA equates to a 75%. The grade
point average is based on all
four years of high school, and
the student’s official
transcript serves as evidence of
grade point average.
For the purpose of determining
A+ eligibility, the state does
not recognize weighted grades in
figuring a grade point average.
Furthermore, the state does not
allow "rounding up" of figures;
in other words, a student, who
graduates with a GPA of 74.9, is
not eligible for A+ status.
4. Graduate with a 95%
attendance record.
There are no excused or
unexcused absences for A+
purposes; an absence is an
absence. The attendance
percentage is based on all four
years of high school, and the
state does not allow rounding up
of attendance figures, either.
Consequently, a student who
graduates with an attendance
record of 94.95% is not eligible
for A+ status.
When a student’s attendance
percentage has fallen so far
below the requirement that it is
determined the student will not
be able to meet the requirement
by graduation, the
parent/guardian will be notified
in writing. The parent/guardian
will also be given information
on filing an appeal as well as a
"Request for A+ Attendance
Waiver" form. More information
on this can be found under
"Attendance Appeal."
5. Perform 50 hours of peer
tutoring/mentoring.
Students must perform at least
50 hours of unpaid peer
tutoring/mentoring of younger
students. Tutoring typically
takes place before or after
school hours or during summer
school. The peer tutoring must
have prior approval from the A+
coordinator, must be performed
on school grounds, and must be
supervised by a Lutie staff
member.
Peer tutors are required to
complete a tutoring time sheet
after each week that tutoring
took place. This form must be
signed by the supervising
teacher and must be turned in to
the A+ office. Forms from a
previous semester will not be
accepted.
A tutoring class is offered to
help students meet the tutoring
requirement. The class, which is
offered as an elective credit,
may be taken for one or two
semesters, and students will be
required to keep a journal and
complete a variety of
assignments in addition to the
tutoring component. In order to
be admitted into the tutoring
class, students must be a
sophomore, junior or senior with
at least a 2.5 GPA and a 95%
attendance rate. They must also
have good citizenship. If all
requirements are met, students
then will be assigned either to
an elementary or junior high
classroom for one period a day;
at which time they will work as
a peer tutor under the
supervision of the classroom
instructor.
6. Maintain good citizenship and
avoidance of drugs/alcohol.
Students participating in the A+
Schools program must maintain a
record of good citizenship
during the contract period. They
must adhere to all school
policies as well as local,
state, and federal laws--both in
school and out of school.
Any student convicted of a
felony will not qualify for
participation in the A+ Schools
program. Involvement in a
life-threatening incident will
automatically terminate the
student’s A+ Schools contract.
Furthermore, as outlined in the
state guidelines, incidents of
drug or alcohol
use/abuse/possession during the
contract period will result in
automatic removal from the A+
Schools program, and any drug or
alcohol use/abuse/possession
prior to the contract period but
after the student received
orientation to the program would
make the student ineligible as
well.
Parents/guardians are notified
of any disciplinary offense that
affects the student’s A+
contract or an offense which
would results in the student’s
removal from the program, the
student and parent/guardian have
15 days in which to file a
written appeal to the appeal
committee. To appeal this
decision the student and
parent/guardian have 10 days to
write an appeal to the Lutie
school superintendent. To
appeal this decision the student
and parent/guardian have 10 days
to write an appeal to the school
board. This appeal would then
be considered at the next
scheduled board meeting.
More specific information
regarding the citizenship policy
is contained within the
student’s A+ contract.
7. Register with the Selective
Service.
As specified by Missouri law,
the A+ tuition incentive will be
made available to male graduates
only after they have registered
with the Selective Service. All
males are required to register
within 30 days of their
eighteenth birthday, and they
may do so through the mail,
on-line at www.sss.gov, at the
post office, or in the
counselor’s office.
8. Make a documented good faith
effort to secure federal
financial assistance funds not
requiring repayment.
All A+ participants must
complete and submit the Free
Application for Federal Student
Aid (FAFSA). This application,
which requires income tax
information from the previous
year, should be completed by the
student and parent/guardian as
soon as possible after January 1
of the student’s senior year in
high school and prior to April 1
of that year.
The FAFSA is available from the
counselor or A+ coordinator; it
may also be completed on-line at
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov.
Approximately four to six weeks
after filing the FAFSA, the
student will receive a
verification card that can be
brought to the A+ office
as proof that the form has been
filed.
It is important for students and
parents to remember that the A+
tuition incentives will only be
made available to reimburse the
unpaid balance of the cost of
tuition and fees after
the federal financial assistance
funds (such as the Pell Grant)
have been applied to these
costs. Some colleges will also
apply certain scholarships to
the student’s tuition or fees
before applying A+ funds if the
scholarships specify that they
can be used only for one of
those costs.
Students planning on using A+
funds to enroll in college for
the summer semester following
high school graduation as well
as the fall semester will need
to complete two separate FAFSAs
because the semesters are
contained within different
fiscal years. For further
explanation, students should
contact the school counselor.
