lyndon academy

Academic Guidelines and Procedures

Graduation Requirements:

Lyndon Academy takes great pride in educating children for a brighter future. In this college preparatory environment, we aim to provide students with a more robust transcript that provides broader opportunities into post-secondary institutions. You may notice that we require more credits than the public institutions around us, but what you may not see is a decided difference in the required teaching hours that is comparable to the International Baccalaureate programs around the world. Core subject matter requires close to 150 hours of teaching time per course with an additional foreign language experience that exceeds 450 hours. More instructional time and courses available translates to greater knowledge, higher testing results, and a stellar transcript.

To earn a diploma, a student must successfully complete the following course load:

  • 4 years of English

  • 4 years of Mathematics

  • 4 years of Science

  • 4 years of History

  • 3 years of Foreign Language

  • 3 credit hours of Electives

  • 1 credit hour of Fine Arts

  • 1 credit hour of Physical Education/Health

As the name suggests, Graduation Requirements are requirements, not suggestions, and are therefore obligatory of all students to receive a Lyndon Academy diploma. Students have abundant opportunities for choice and flexibility when it comes to the electives they take. Graduation Requirements reflect the school’s belief that all students, regardless of their past experiences and their future aspirations, should have certain foundational courses and experiences as the essential core of their Upper School experience.

*Note that one year is defined as two semesters of coursework.

Acceleration/Honors/Advanced Placement Course Guidelines:

Algebra I in 7th grade:

Enrollment in Algebra I in 7th grade is based on the following criteria:

  • Score at or above 95% Lyndon Academy’s Grade 6 math course.

  • Score at or above the 90th percentile on the ACT Aspire math section(s).

  • Score at or above 95% on the EOT (End of Course Test/Final) for Lyndon Academy’s Grade 6 math course.

  • Faculty recommendation.

Honors Courses: (Summer preparation may be required.)

  • Score at or above 90% Lyndon Academy’s previous affiliated course work.

  • Score at or above 90% on the EOT (End of Course Test/Final) for Lyndon Academy.

  • Faculty recommendation.

AP Courses: (Summer preparation may be required.)

Many of the departments offer Advanced Placement (AP) courses, which have a nationally-based curriculum, entailing a level of commitment and rigor appropriate to a college level course, culminating in a three-hour national exam. Each department has determined the criteria by which a student may qualify to enroll in each AP course. The school makes sure that this challenge is a correct match by consulting the teachers and the counselor who verifies that the student meets the criteria for entering the course. Not all students are eligible or appropriate for AP classes, and the school reserves the right to make that decision. In order to honor the integrity of the AP program, a student who enrolls in an AP course will complete the course and sit for the AP exam.

In order to determine the student’s strong aptitude, achievement, and interest in the particular subject matter, and to aid students in making thoughtful academic decisions with regard to AP coursework, Lyndon Academy has developed the following AP course admission criteria.

  • Score at or above 90% Lyndon Academy’s previous affiliated coursework.

  • Faculty recommendation.

  • PSAT Scores using the AP Potential tool that identifies the indicator of readiness for the AP Course for the content area of interest.

Online High School (Virtual Courses):

Lyndon Academy is proud to offer several courses online in partnership with The Virtual High School, a Massachusetts based institution with Massachusetts based curriculum. VHS is also accredited by AdvancEd. The courses offered are paced, and penalties do apply for late work. They are delivered in an asynchronous manner and do not require specific log in times. Students are required to complete assessments in school and are not allowed to conduct them off campus. Semester courses are 15 weeks long and worth a 0.5 credit. Full-year courses are 30 weeks or more and are worth 1.0 credit. VHS courses count as elective credit and may not substitute for core graduation requirements. If the same course is offered on campus at Lyndon, students may not take the VHS course. Lyndon Academy will cover the cost of the courses, labs, and testing fees. However, a student’s household will be responsible for covering any expenses incurred by the school, if a student does not complete a course, drops a course, fails a course, or withdraws from Lyndon Academy prior to completion. Note: Households will need to make sure computers are compliant at home to conduct studies off campus. Lyndon Academy is not responsible for home computing devices.

Honors Dual Enrollment Courses:

Students with very strong academic records who have exhausted the Lyndon curriculum in English, Mathematics, Science, History, Computer Science, Music or Foreign Language, or who wish to study a Foreign Language not offered at Lyndon, may apply for approval to enroll in designated courses.

Enrollment criteria currently is as follows:

  • The student must have completed all the available high school courses in the subject.

  • The student must have maintained a grade of A in the subject area. *

  • The student should have a 3.5 GPA in all courses taken during his/her high school career. *

  • The student must be accepted into the Honors Dual Enrollment Program.

  • If a student is currently taking a dual enrollment course, he/she must earn a grade of B or better in that course to continue.

  • If a senior enrolls in such a course during Lyndon’s second semester, he/she is required to continue with the course up to and through the final examination.

* Recommended collegiate guidelines.