Graduation Requirements
To earn a diploma from The Leelanau School, students are required to successfully complete a minimum of four years of English; three years of science and three and a half years of history, including one semester of Government; mathematics, through Algebra II; one year of fine arts; and achieve a second-year proficiency in a world language. Students need to successfully complete a Senior Project and a minimum of four years of elective courses.

Other Leelanau School graduation requirements include athletic participation in three seasons per year, successful completion of the Senior Leadership Program, and the Red Cross CPR/First Aid Certification.

Course Semester Credits

Total Credits needed: 42

Students are required to enroll in a minimum of six academic courses per semester. Proposed schedules are reviewed by the Director of Academic Studies with consideration given to each student’s academic background. Course offerings for seniors vary, although Senior English, Senior Seminar, Government, Senior Leadership Program and Red Cross CPR/First Aid Certification are required.

Advanced Placement Courses
The Leelanau School offers opportunities to take Advanced Placement courses and tests as warranted in the five cognitive disciplines. Students are invited to participate in the Advanced Placement program under the advisement of the Head of the Humanities, Math/Science Department and the Director of Academics. The AP classes may be taught in a traditional classroom setting or as tutorials, and receive weighted credit (0.5) toward the grade point average (GPA). Upon choosing to enroll in an Advanced Placement course, each student is committed to remain in the course for both semesters, culminating with the AP exam in May.

In addition to our course offerings on campus, we work in partnership with the Michigan Virtual High School, Apex Learning, Florida Online, and other organizations that extend a multitude of course offerings to our students via the computer. Students may choose from an array of high school courses in nearly any discipline or choose to begin their college in their Junior or Senior year by enrolling in Advance Placement Courses. Students who choose to supplement their course load with online courses must be in excellent academic standing and obtain approval from the Director of Academics who will determine a student's level of self-motivation and self-confidence that is required for such enrollments. For a specific list of courses, contact the Director of Academics.

Academic Honors

High Honors
Students who receive a 3.5 GPA with no grade below C in any class for the semester.

Honors
Students who receive a 3.0 GPA with no grade below C in any class for the semester.

Valedictorian, Salutatorian and Top Scholars
Seniors with the first and second highest cumulative GPAs and are enrolled for a minimum of three semesters at Leelanau are awarded the academic honors of Valedictorian and Salutatorian for a given school year. In addition, juniors, sophomores and freshmen who have the highest cumulative GPAs after a minimum of one semester are given the honor of top scholars for their classes. All cumulative GPAs are based on semester grades earned in high school (grades 9-12).

The only grades that are considered for the cumulative GPA are letter grades earned from Leelanau and from other schools in the USA that are transferred to a Leelanau transcript. Also, only the Leelanau courses that are considered “honors” or “advanced placement” are given a 0.3 and 0.5 weight respectively. All other letter grades are given numerical equivalents as described in The Leelanau School Handbook, section 4.4.

These awards are presented at the annual year-end ceremonies. The Valedictorian is expected to give a speech at the Graduation ceremony and the Salutatorian is expected to give a speech at the Lawn & Tree ceremony.

National Honor Society
The purpose of the National Honor Society is "to create an enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote worthy leadership and to encourage the development of character" in students. Membership is open to Juniors and Seniors who have completed at least two full semesters at Leelanau and who demonstrate the personal qualities of scholarship, leadership, service and character.