Cloquet School Board: Students must do the work

Following a lengthy discussion during the work session Tuesday, Cloquet school board members voted 4-2 to give high school students an "incomplete" grade instead of an "F" if they failed a class during the fourth quarter, when the district switched to distance learning.

Getting an "I" on their report card means students will have to make up the class in order to receive credit for the course.

Cloquet high school principal Steve Battaglia initially proposed that failing students receive an asterisk instead of a grade for any classes they failed, and would therefore be "held harmless" for the period March 16-June 30, 2020. The student would get credit for the course, and their GPA would be unaffected.

"It's a really small group of students that we're talking about," Battaglia said. "But the kids that would are our most vulnerable kids - special ed or free-and-reduced [lunch] kids - kids who have had all their supports yanked from them. They're kids that would pass in most scenarios if they had the support at school with them."

Board chairman Ted Lammi balked at the idea.

"I have a problem with giving someone a free pass if they didn't do the work," Lammi said.

Board member Dave Battaglia suggested that the students receive an incomplete instead of a fail, and be allowed to make up the work over the summer or next fall, and that idea passed later in the meeting, with board members Nate Sandman and Hawk Huard voting against the resolution.

Board members also passed a second resolution that would allow students to choose a simple "Pass" grade instead of a letter grade for the quarter, which would also not affect their GPA.

The Minnesota Department of Education "strongly" recommended that districts not give any students an F "during this unprecedented situation" and not hold any students back a grade because of failing grades during distance learning.

In other matters Monday, the board approved spending nearly $476,000 on waterproofing work at Cloquet High School.

May 29 is the last day of school. District staff don't know yet if distance learning will continue in the fall, but students will be allowed to keep their computers and tablets over the summer this year.