Academic Integrity Pledge

The Oregon Trail School District is committed to creating an environment that fosters academic honesty and personal integrity.  Our goal is to guide students on their educational journeys and to help them to become principled inquirers and independent learners.  Developing this at an early age helps students to acquire study habits that they will carry with them throughout their academic careers and lives.

Academic integrity focuses on the expectation that all students will do their own work.  Students will use their own ideas and knowledge rather than representing the work of others as their own (plagiarism), and copying answers on tests and homework.  For example it is important to know the distinction between legitimate collaboration and unacceptable collusion. The following example refers to a group project of which the teacher had clearly given instructions for collaboration.  Collaboration: A student and friend contribute their own work and ideas to a group project. Collusion:  Friend offers student to copy work and the student accepts. In this instance both students are guilty of collusion. It is important that students, parents, and teachers work together to uphold the highest ethical and academic standards.   Instances of verified academic malpractice will receive no credit and possibly have further academic or disciplinary consequences.

We encourage students to read the pledge on the following page with their parents and discuss it prior to signing

For further information please feel free to contact your teacher or principal.

Guides and Forms:

Are you completing your assignments honestly?

Oregon Trail School District MLA Citation Guide

Academic Integrity Pledge Form

OTA Homework Expectations

Yes, we believe in homework at OTA! Research consistently finds that regular homework expectations will assist your child in school. Homework is a necessary part of classroom teaching, and all students can expect to receive homework on a regular basis. Homework is intended to reinforce work covered in class, practice skills and to help students develop important habits of self-discipline, organization, and self-reliance. Different teachers and grades will have different amounts, depending on the assignment. Always check with teachers if you see too much or too little in homework assignments. (Each year we routinely hear as many concerns voiced over too much homework as we do with not enough homework.) Parental feedback is an important way that we monitor homework to get the amount right. Help us to assure that all homework assignments are completed.