As this school year has been different than any other, we feel strongly that the academic exemption grade of a 95% or higher should be lowered. We believe that in order to exempt off of academics this year, you should really have to have a 90% or higher. A 90% is a remarkable grade to be getting this year in such a difficult and unusual time, and it deserves to be rewarded. We understand that the administration of McIntosh wants to hold students to high standards, but having an A (90% or above) is definitely appropriate to qualify for academic exemption this year. This school year, hundreds of kids and even some staff members have been quarantined. As a result, students have had to continuously teach themselves at home. Student and teacher relationships are also significantly important to form in order for the student to be successful in the classroom, and those have been near impossible to form this year. Teachers have had to continuously adjust their lesson plans to meet the restrictions that COVID-19 has placed on us, which has made teaching the material remarkably difficult. There is no arguing that our grades would be higher if COVID-19 was not a thing this year. But, it is, and we must adapt to that. I know that for myself, I will have missed 17 days of school between November and December due to quarantining. Although most of us quarantined students have stayed up to date with work and assignments, learning at home is simply not as effective as learning in the classroom, surrounded by peers and a teacher that is qualified in the subject area. Due to quarantine, I have missed out on class activities that are not possible to be done at home. I know that I am not alone, and many other students have also experienced this inconvenience. This school year is not normal, and, therefore, it should not be treated normal. For normal school years, a 95% or higher for academic exemption is reasonable. But, the grade this year needs to be lowered to accommodate for the extreme hardships we have all gone through this year. We feel that we have sufficient support to back up our argument, and we hope you can see that as well. We strongly urge the McIntosh administration to consider lowering the academic exemption grade for the 2020-2021 school year. Thank you for your time.