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Academic Integrity Policy

At Coyote Ridge, we foster the development of the IB Learner Profile. The IB Learner Profile aims to develop learners who are:

  • Inquirers
  • Knowledgeable
  • Thinkers
  • Communicators
  • Principled
  • Open-minded
  • Caring
  • Risk-takers
  • Balanced
  • Reflective

Our school focus on the attributes of the Learner Profile helps to create and maintain a positive school culture and learning environment. Our IB policies, including the Academic Integrity policy, document our commitment to creating an environment in which the IB philosophy can thrive. Our students and staff strive to be internationally-minded learners who take action for positive change.

Philosophy

It is the responsibility of the entire staff at Coyote Ridge Elementary to create a culture that results in a practice and ethos of academic integrity including the five fundamentals; honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. As a PYP school, we expect students and staff to exhibit the attributes of the IB Learner Profile. This includes being principled by demonstrating integrity and academic honesty. We believe that our entire staff has the responsibility to teach students about academic integrity in developmentally appropriate ways. We recognize that young children learn to write by copying letters and words from their environment. As students grow as learners, our goal is to help them learn the difference between copying to learn and copying that is plagiarism. When PYP students reuse the work of others without giving credit to the source, we see this as a teachable moment. As our students enter middle school, high school, and the workplace, they need to understand the value of creating original work and giving credit to others who have contributed to their work. It is imperative for students to understand the importance of academic integrity in all settings. Academic integrity empowers students to utilize ethical approaches in demonstrating their learning.

Practices

Throughout the PYP, students have opportunities to practice research skills in the context of their units of inquiry. In the classroom, students have access to a variety of media. Teachers encourage students to take proper notes from multiple sources, put information into their own words, and cite their sources. In grades K-2, students document the type of media they accessed to find their information. In grades 3-5, students provide a list of resources to give credit to sources that they referenced to complete their work. All teachers have the responsibility to guide students in the ethical and responsible use of information. Students have the responsibility to create original work.

During lessons in the Media Center, all students are taught about digital citizenship, intellectual property, copyright, and plagiarism in developmentally appropriate ways. All students are taught that when they use someone else’s ideas, they must cite their source. Students in grades 3-5 will learn how to write a bibliography and to create one using online platforms.

The corrective actions for plagiarism are at the discretion of the teachers and school principal. Corrective actions will be appropriate for the situation and age of the child. Teachers have the responsibility to recognize when a student has plagiarized and will help the student take corrective action. Students have the right to understand their errors and be given a chance to correct the issue.

Thompson School District Student Acceptable Technology Use Policy

Sharing the Policy

This policy will be available to staff on Google Drive in the Policies and Essential Agreements folder. This policy will be posted on the Coyote Ridge school website and shared with parents at a School Improvement Team meeting. As the students are the most important stakeholders, the academic integrity policy will be shared with them during their media class each year. Classroom teachers will also share the policy rules and responsibilities with their students in an age appropriate manner throughout the year.

Further Reviews

The staff will review the Academic Integrity Policy annually for changes and additions. This annual discussion will ensure that all staff members are aware of the policy and adhere to our agreements. The annual review will also provide a way for us to make changes to reflect best practices in teaching. We would like this document to be an accurate reflection of our philosophy and practices.

Contributors

This policy is the result of collaboration between many staff members at Coyote Ridge. The latest major revision of this policy was facilitated by our Media Technology Specialist and Principal. A small group of teachers with representation from primary, intermediate, special education, and single subject teachers assisted the two policy revision leaders. The PYP coordinator was also involved with the revision of each policy. The full staff reviewed and approved the final policy.