Honor Code

The Jamestown High School community, comprised of administration, faculty, staff, students, and parents, will support a climate of honesty, respect, responsibility and trust. This community will encourage students to take pride in their own abilities while supporting and guiding students to achieve success through their own initiative and perseverance. Our community will develop and foster the growth of all members through honest effort.

Honesty

• Exercising daily commitment to truthful words and actions.
• A commitment to academic honesty and integrity.

Respect

• A commitment to be tolerant of others, their views, and their values. This means having high regard for one’s own well-being and that of others.
• A commitment to respectful behavior.
• Attending all classes on time, contributing to discussions, meeting academic deadlines, and performing to the best of one’s ability.
• A willingness to follow established school and classroom rules and expectations.

Responsibility

• Commitment to duty, including assigned duties and those for which one volunteers.
• An obligation to the ownership of one’s work, deeds, words, and actions.
• Personal accountability to do the right thing.
• Taking appropriate action against wrongdoing, despite peer pressure, fear, loyalty, or compassion.
• A commitment to independent thought.

Trust

• A belief that others will act in a forthright manner.
• Reliance on the integrity, ability, and character of others.
• A mutual relationship between students, faculty and staff, administration, parents, and the community that enhances the learning environment.

(Adapted from Mountain Lakes High School Honor Code)

Students will:

• Have a knowledge and understanding of the Jamestown High School Honor Code and its consequences.
• Realize that all academic work falls under the Honor Code and participation in our academic community implies understanding of the Honor Code and intent to follow all expectations and consequences.
• Avoid situations which might contribute to academic infractions of the Honor Code including plagiarism or cheating.
• Avoid situations which might contribute to infractions of the pillars of Honor, respect, responsibility, and trust.
• Avoid unauthorized assistance on all school work.
• Document borrowed materials by citing sources correctly.
• Avoid plagiarism by:
  • Acknowledging information, ideas, or patterns of thought borrowed from any source.
  • Consulting faculty about any questionable situations.
• Understand teachers’ expectations for collaboration on assignments and ask for clarification when uncertain.

Faculty will:

• Have a knowledge and understanding of the Jamestown High School Honor Code and its consequences.
• Clarify expectations of students for each assignment and answer student questions when they occur.
• Take immediate action by following the established consequences when violations related to the Honor Code are determined.
• Structure conditions during testing to alleviate opportunities for cheating.
• Specify the types of collaboration that are discouraged and those that are encouraged.
• Teach or review correct use of documentation when assigning work that will require the use of outside sources.
• Review the Honor Code during the first week of each new semester. Teachers are encouraged to review the Honor Code periodically as it relates to specific disciplines.
• Include the statement of the Honor Code in course syllabi.

Counselors will:

• Have a knowledge and understanding of the Jamestown High School Honor Code and its consequences.
• Facilitate Honor Code violation conferences when follow-up counseling is appropriate for the student, teacher, counselor, or administrator.
• Provide the Honor Code and review it with all transfer and new students that enter Jamestown High School mid-year or mid-semester.

Administrators will:

• Have a knowledge and understanding of the Jamestown High School Honor Code and its consequences.
• Assure that all faculty, students, and parents have knowledge of the Jamestown High School Honor Code.
• Help to create a school-wide environment which encourages adherence to the Honor Code.
• Encourage teachers to enforce the Honor Code and to encourage all staff to be consistent.
• Maintain cumulative records or reported violations of the Honor Code.
• Facilitate Honor Code violation conferences among the student/parent/teacher/counselor when follow-up action is appropriate.
• Enforce appropriate disciplinary actions in accordance with the Student Handbook and Honor Code Consequences.

Parents will:

• Have a knowledge and understanding of the Jamestown High School Honor Code and its consequences.
• Provide a positive example for adhering to the Honor Code.
• Support faculty and administration in enforcing the Honor Code.

(Adapted from the Edison High School Honor Code)

Plagiarism includes the copying of the language, structure, idea and/or thought of another representing it as one’s own original work.

Examples of plagiarism include but are not limited to:

• Presenting as one’s own, the works or the opinions of someone else without proper acknowledgement.
• Borrowing of the sequence of ideas, the arrangement of materials, or the pattern of thought of someone else without proper acknowledgement.
• Having a parent or another person write an essay or do a project, which is then submitted as one’s own work.
• Failing to use proper documentation and bibliography or works cited.
• Copying from a source even if making minor changes without giving proper acknowledgement.
• Borrowing or copying materials from another student.
• Majority of a student work is from other materials, even if cited, and does not show original academic thought from the student.

Cheating includes the actual giving or receiving of any unauthorized aid or assistance, or the actual giving or receiving of unfair advantage on any form of academic work.

Examples of cheating include but are not limited to:

• Permitting another student to copy work or assignments.
• Giving or receiving answers to any academic assignment.
• Improper use of the internet and web materials to complete papers or assignments.
• Deception of any kind in an academic setting.
• The use of talking, signs, or gestures during a quiz, test, or exam.
• Passing quiz, test, or exam information during a class period or from one class period to members of another class period.
• Submission of pre-written assignment at times when such assignments are supposed to be written in class.
• Exceeding time limits on timed tests, quizzes, or assignments.
• Unauthorized use of study aids, notes, books, data, or other information.
• Sabotaging the papers, projects, or experiments of other students.
• Using features of electronic devices, such as cell phones, iPods or other mp3 players, cell phone cameras, or text messaging or emailing.

(Adapted from Edison High School Honor Code and WJCC Student Discipline Code)

First Offense

• Conference between teacher and student, parent notification
• Loss of credit for the assignment
• Honor Code infraction notification

Second Offense

• Conference between counselor, teacher, parent, and student
• Loss of credit for the assignment
• Honor Code infraction notification

Subsequent Offenses

• Discipline referral
• Loss of credit for the assignment
• Honor Code infraction notification

Consequences for infractions begin with the classroom teacher. Multiple infractions across several teachers will be handled by the teachers in consultation with the student’s administrator. All infractions will be catalogued for use by administration and selection processes for academic awards and National Honor Society.