<p>Our school district requires 20 credits for graduation- 1/2 ea semester-
with 9 of those credits being “non academic” either PE- OC ED- or elective requirements.</p>
<p>Because the district has poorly managed money in the past- including agreeing to pay teachers more money than they had to offer- which will require even more cutbacks than we had already ( I am not against paying teachers- but we have no mechanism in place for evaluating good teachers and getting rid of bad ones- heck the district doesn’t even have a 5 year plan)</p>
<ul>
<li>they are saying that bringing standards up to what surrounding districts are doing- which is requiring 22 or 23 credits for graduation- they will be just as likely to cut back schools to offering 5 classes a semester rather than the 6 that most high schools struggle to offer.</li>
</ul>
<p>So although I swore I was going to spend more time at home this year- tommorow I am planning to speak at a high school meeting stressing that if poorer districts in our state with fewer resources can offer 6 classes a semester- we should at least be able to offer that to students.</p>
<p>So I was wondering , especially about other public districts- what the graduation requirements are- have they been updated with the advent of NCLB or apart from that?</p>
<p>I am especially wondering about urban districts- because I have a feeling that they are going to argue ( not in so many words of course) that poor minority kids- are just not able to reach the bar if we raise it.( because to the district - poor and minority go hand in hand)</p>
<p>Our experience has been that kids will rise to the expectations- not that if they aren’t supported they will be able to do it on their own- but with a hard working community of teachers/principals/parents/students, I have seen amazing things.</p>
<p>But I have also seen staff ( not teachers- but counselors and the school pysch) too quick to suggest that a student transfer out of challenging classes if they are getting less than As and Bs. I think most kids prefer to be challenged, not killed, but have clear expectations and to feel like that they are learning something rather than an easy “A”.</p>
<p>I know that many students on these boards have had amazing opportunities- but I am concerned about raising the standards for all students- not just the ones who are going to UPenn or AnnArbor or Ohio State.</p>
<p>I don’t know if speaking out will make a difference- frankly since I don’t represent a special interest group the district is interested in- I mostly jsut get brushed off- but I think by educating parents and the community to what colleges require, what businesses are looking for ( Microsoft for example is just begging for workers- they have to go to Ireland/India to get them!), that we may be able to make a difference- if not for the kids in high school now- then maybe the ones in 2nd grade</p>