High School from home school

[RachelGoorbarry]

Current state of homeschool to high school dilemma.

One son hands in assignment that consisted of a rough draft and a final version.  He got 50% on the draft and 100% on the final essay.  He asked the teacher why, and she said he did no editing, so he only gets 50% for that portion.  He tells the teacher that the draft was basically his final version and he did not feel any need to edit it.  The teacher says that she won't count the 50% in her midterm grade.

The other son hands in the same assignment and gets 50% on the draft but he makes significant changes to his draft before he completes the final version.  Since the teacher told his brother that the draft is not worth any part of the midterm grade, he does not ask the teacher about his 50% and assumes it won't matter.  He gets over 90% in all other work.  The midterm grades come out and he gets 88%.  The teacher says the grade dropped because of the draft mark.  The program he is applying for says he needs over 90%.  So, we print the draft and the final and also a 'compare' document' which shows all the changes he made.  There were a lot of changes; practically the entire document is red, which means there were a lot of changes, so he did not do 'no editing' like she wrote on her grade sheet.  He cries for 90 minutes and tries to muster the strength to talk with the teacher tomorrow.  He has a horrible sleep, arrives early to school to speak to her but she is not there.  So he finds her during lunch hour and tells her the story, and shows her the 'compare' version.  She said that that is what he should have handed in.  He said that her instructions did not say that.  He says he thought the draft would not be part of the final mark.  She says she cannot do anything about the mark because the report card was printed the day before. 

I am insisting that my son go back to the English teacher and get it resolved at least in her books, if it is not possible to reprint the report card. 

 

Meanwhile, I am waiting in the school office for more than an hour because the VP said she would get back to us about adjusting final exam times because my sons are traveling during final exams week for a music performance.  So, since the VP did not get back to us, I had to show up and find out the answer.  The English teacher said that she could not accommodate us on our preferred date to write since it is a 'snow' day reserved for exams. 
Whereas the other teachers were extremely accommodating, they said no problem, you can write exams on the dates we requested. 

So, I am worried about how all this will affect my kids and if their future marks will be impacted by the English teacher, who is also the head of the department and who is loved by the office staff, as I was told by the VP.

My guts tell me to get out of this school once and for all and home school the last part of their education with strong marks and SAT scores.  My kids are defending the English teacher.

Kindly advise.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

Honestly, I would advocate for your son's grade. It is great you had him ask first but now I would intervene and even go as high as the principal. I would gather any evidence like instruction sheets and what she told your other son as well. Since this grade is important I would not let it go especially if the final draft is good.