Grading and Evaluations

Grades are the way that students are compared to other students, both at LEC and at other schools. Grades are problematic because they can set unreasonable expectations that put students in a win-lose situation and often frustrate creativity and intensify anxiety. At LEC, students receive grades in all classes based on a student's satisfaction with her/his accomplishments and the instructor's assessments of growth, commitment and application.

Students receive written evaluations from their instructors three times a year. These are the basis for parent-student-teacher conferences. We emphasize close communication with parents who may request additional meetings as necessary to facilitate this. Grades are awarded at the completion of each course and comprise Report Cards received at the end of the school year. Students may be awarded grades of A, B, C, Pass or Incomplete. A student may receive a pass in a class for which minimum requirements have been met but where work and/or class hours are insufficient for a grade. Failure is not an option at LEC as students receive credit for everything that they do. An Incomplete means either that basic requirements have not all been met or that hours will be carried over to the following year. Students may, at the option of the teacher, make up work or propose an optional project to complete course requirements.

Graduation and Beyond

No LEC student completes their schooling without learning basic skills...

• To think for themselves.
• To love learning.
• To respect and understand the natural world.
• To value and create community.

With these skills, young people follow any path they choose. Some of our students are accepted by the nation's most prestigious colleges and universities. Some stay here in our hometown and make it a better place. Some are artists and musicians, some are computer programmers and small business owners. But all LEC students stand taller. They stand up for what's right. They stand out from the crowd.

LEC students begin their movement towards a life beyond graduation as soon as they arrive here. College and career counseling begins from the question "About what are you passionate?" which is infused in the day to day workings of the school. Because of our emphasis on positive interpersonal skills, our graduates are well prepared to pursue a wide range of options and to continue their education in colleges or universities, in the working world, in the artistic community and in community service.

Diploma and Graduation Requirements

At LEC, a High School Diploma is awarded at the completion these minimum requirements:

College Education

LEC students have one of the highest college acceptance rates in the nation. LEC students craft an “academic resume” with the classes they have taken and experiences they have had. They know themselves and their passions and follow these to the colleges that can fulfill them.

A partial list of those colleges to which LEC graduates have been accepted includes:

Antioch College Appalachian State College The Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Pittsburg Beliot College Bennington College Boston College Boston University Delaware Valley College Fashion Institute of Technology Guillford College Goucher College Hampshire College Harvard University James Madison University Johnson and Wales University Kenyon College Lebanon Valley College Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts

Marlboro College Mary Baldwin College Mount Holyoke College Oberlin College Radford College Randolph Macon Women's College Rhode Island School of Design Sarah Lawrence College Savannah College of Art and Design State University of New York University of Alaska University of Arizona University of Maryland University of Oregon University of Virginia Virginia Commonwealth University Warren Wilson College College of Wooster Virginia Tech