IB MYP Honesty Policy

Restoration Academy IB Honesty Policy

“Honesty is the best way to prevent a mistake from turning into a failure.”

This policy was drafted by IB Coordinator, SNSimpson, and a committee from Restoration Academy that includes teachers from the following departments:

Humanities, Special Education, Mandarin/ELL, and principal, A. Simon. Last edit on June 28, 2023.

I. RA Philosophy on Academic Honesty

At Restoration Academy Magnet School for Exploration and Innovation, we believe that academic honesty serves as a foundation for life-long learning.

This philosophy is reflected in our schoolwide core values of being fair, trustworthy, and responsible. This is also emphasized by incorporating the IB Learner Profile of being principled in our school culture and curriculum.

Our belief is that by approaching learning with these values at the core, our FUTURE Leaders will develop a personal sense of integrity that will drive their academic learning and personal endeavors, today and in the future.

To maintain an environment that promotes academic honesty, we expect all community stakeholders including staff, students, and families to recognize, support, and celebrate authentic student work. As a community we recognize that authentic learning is best promoted when we support learning through inquiry and offer cumulative projects that are competency-based assessments.

The Academic Honesty Policy outlines and clarifies the expectations of all community stakeholders in regards to academic honesty and integrity.

II. Academic Honesty: Fair and Unfair Practices Defined

How do we define academic honesty? Academic Honesty is a set of values and skills that emphasize the importance of and expectations regarding personal integrity in the process of teaching, learning, and assessing learning.

Academic honesty is “performing all academic work without plagiarism, cheating, lying, tampering, stealing, receiving unauthorized or illegitimate assistance from any other person, or using any source of information that is not common knowledge”.

It requires taking responsibility for the process of the student’s own work, recognizing the work of others, and maintaining honor and trust within the learning environment.

To understand the expectations of the academic honesty policy, it is essential to establish a shared understanding of what contributes to academic malpractice.

The following outlines how we view academic malpractice at Restoration Academy.

Acceptable Practices

Authentic Authorship

Definition: Authentic authorship is defined as a student’s piece of work based on his/her individual and original ideas with the ideas and work of others fully acknowledged. It is important to note that students may use resources that support their ideas, but they must also correctly cite the source using MLA format.

Original work products: classwork, writing tasks, projects, presentations
Include cited resources used as reference

Paraphrasing

Definition: A paraphrase is a restatement of the meaning of a text or passage using other words. A paraphrase typically explains or clarifies the text that is being paraphrased.

You must provide a reference
Must be entirely in your own words, not merely a substitution of words and phrases in the original text

Collaboration

Definition: The action of working with someone to produce or create something.

Partner work
Group projects and presentations

Academic Misconduct / Unfair Practices

Plagiarism

Definition: Plagiarism means using someone else’s work without giving them proper credit. In academic writing, plagiarizing involves using words, ideas, or information from a source without citing it correctly.

Paraphrasing a source too closely
Including a direct quote without quotation marks
Copying elements of different sources and pasting them into a new document
Leaving out an in-text citation
Submitting a full text that is not your own

Collusion

Definition: Supporting malpractice by another student, including allowing one’s work to be accessed, copied, or submitted by another student for assessment.

Providing work for another student to submit as their own
Using another student’s work as your own
Co-writing or sharing background information that you will use in your work

Duplication of Work

Definition: Submission of the same work for different assessments or curriculum components. All assignments should be original and created for the specific course unless discussed with the instructor beforehand.

Submitting the same paper for two different classes in the same term without permission
Submitting the same assignment in different semesters without approval from both teachers

Cheating

Definition: Cheating involves taking or giving any information or material that will be used to determine academic credit.

Copying from another student’s test or homework
Allowing another student to copy from your test or homework
Using unauthorized materials (textbooks, notes, etc.) during a test
Collaborating on a test without teacher’s permission
Having someone else write or plan your paper

Improper Use of Computers or Calculators

Definition: Improper use refers to using computer or calculator programs without authorization.

Using a computer or calculator during a test without permission
Selling or sharing information stored on a device that will be submitted for a grade
Sharing test or assignment answers using technology

Academic Misconduct

Definition: Academic misconduct is violating school policies by tampering with grades or acquiring/distributing any part of an exam or assignment dishonestly.

Obtaining a copy of a test before it is given
Distributing a test (free or for money) before it is administered
Encouraging others to obtain a test beforehand
Changing grades in a gradebook, assignment, or system
Continuing to work on a test after time is called

III. Honesty Expectations of All Community Stakeholders

All community stakeholders have roles and responsibilities in supporting schoolwide and individual academic honesty.

The following outlines the expectations of each:

Support academic honesty policy and investigate all counselor/teacher reports of malpractice.
Ensure that all staff, students, and parents understand definitions, responsibilities, and repercussions by outlining expectations in Student and Staff handbooks and distributing Academic Honesty: Code of Conduct form for signature.
Ensure the academic honesty policy is applied consistently throughout the school.
Provide staff development and guidance on academic writing and referencing systems that are available.
Provide teachers with material to guide students in maintaining academic honesty.
Contact parents and students about malpractice incidents.

Staff

Communicate appropriate collaboration with each assignment.
Teach a recognized citation convention for written and non-written works
Demonstrate and model academic honesty in presentation, etc.
Report and record academic dishonesty through a referral.
Assure students understand that when they submit a task as their own, they are representing that they have not received nor given aid on assignments or assessments.
Communicate with students, parents, counselors, and administrators about concerns and malpractice offenses.
Teachers, administrators, and counselors involve students in reflection and discussion about instances of malpractice.

Students

Confirm understanding of academic honesty with signature on Academic Honesty: Code of Conduct form each year.
Report malpractice violations to a trusted school employee.
Work to produce authentic work, ask for guidance if unsure
Understand that putting your name on an assignment or assessment certifies it as your own work, understanding proper citation expectations
Minimize malpractice temptation by managing time appropriately.
If an incident of malpractice occurs, either intentional or unintentional, complete the reflection process with your instructor.

Parents, Caregivers

Read/sign Academic Honesty: Code of Conduct form.
Encourage your child to practice academic honesty.
Encourage your child to cultivate a culture of academic honesty in school.
Address concerns of academic misconduct/malpractice with your child and school personnel if necessary.

IV. Promoting Academic Honesty at Restoration Academy

In effort to support students in developing academic honesty throughout their school experience, we will:

align academic expectations to the already established school values of being Fair and Trustworthy.
explicitly teach age-appropriate strategies for avoiding plagiarism, outlining the ethical, academic, and legal ramifications.
teach official APA reference formatting that students are required to use on all published tasks and projects. Teaching students to cite texts appropriately will strengthen their writing skills and promote academic integrity.
support students in developing skills outlined previously on the acceptable practices table: authentic authorship, paraphrasing, and collaboration.

At the start of each new school year, teachers will teach/review academic honesty expectations during the first week of school welcome and community building activities. These expectations and strategies for maintaining academic honesty will be readdressed throughout the school year as part of instructional practices.

V. Academic Misconduct: Consequences

At Restoration Academy, incidents of Academic Malpractice will be investigated and managed by school administration, the school DOSAL (Director of Student Activities and Life), and reported to parents/caregivers.

Consequences will be addressed following the NYC Department of Education Discipline Code and the Positive Behavior Intervention System of support outlined in Restoration Academy’s PBIS Handbook.

VI. Communication Plan

In addition to publishing the Academic Honesty Policy on the school website, the expectations will be communicated to all community stakeholders in September through staff meetings, parent meetings, and grade-level student sessions.

The policy will also be published in Restoration Academy’s PBIS Handbook, Staff Handbook, and Student Handbook.

This policy was drafted by IB Coordinator, SNSimpson, in collaboration with a committee that includes staff members from the Instructional Leadership Team. Published, July 2023. Last Review: August 2023. Next Review: June 2024