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No graduation confusion this year
North Medford High School language arts teacher Rhonda Lee coaches student Jennifer Sealy on her senior paper, one of many requirements for graduation. The requirements are being clarified this year by the Medford School District to avoid confusion. Medford schools set up guidelines to help seniors and their parents fulfill all the requirements - before deadlines arrive and it's too late By DAMIAN MANN It happens every year: High school seniors who've fallen behind on their schoolwork complain loud and long when they learn they won't be walking in the June ceremonies. They either don't have all 24 credits required to graduate, or they didn't complete their senior project. Or maybe they missed an assignment or didn't take a required test. Hoping to avoid confusion and complaints over graduation requirements from students and parents, the Medford School District has established precise deadlines and guidelines to follow this year. "We don't want a situation where a student comes in saying, 'Boy, I didn't know, gosh,' " said North Medford High School counselor Ralph Burrelle. The district has created a brochure, written in English and Spanish, that spells out timelines for graduation and other requirements. In addition, school officials plan to set up parent conferences, send out warning letters and call parents at home. Overall, the requirements haven't changed much for graduation, said Dan Zaklan, director of secondary education. But they've become much clearer. "It is now more clear what the standards are," said Zaklan. "Both schools are following the same procedures." Last year, a student became confused about meeting a deadline for a final assignment after talking to one of his teachers. At first, the district told him he couldn't graduate, then allowed him to walk because of the confusion. As a result of this incident and others, Zaklan said, the district is making sure that only counselors or principals are authorized to discuss graduation eligibility. "Teachers never had that role," he said. While only a few students and parents complain each year that they were confused about the requirements, school officials think the new rules should help smooth out the road to graduation. Comprehensive progress reports have been sent home to parents, followed up by phone calls. Every quarter, the district will review a senior's progress to make sure the student is on the right track. "The problem generally arises when the student hasn't followed through on their obligations," said South Medford High School counselor Donnie Frazier. Because the district didn't have specific rules, teachers would sometimes extend deadlines and some students would take advantage. "In some cases, (students) tried to exploit the lack of a specific rule," Frazier said. While this problem affects only a handful of students each year, Frazier believes the specific guidelines should help everyone. "By the time it gets to May and June, it isn't a surprise," he said. Frazier said about 275 students are expected to graduate at South this year. Students who won't take part in the graduation ceremonies are in the general equivalency diploma program, are so-called "super-seniors" (in their fifth year or more of high school) or just don't have enough credits to graduate this year, said Frazier. Burrelle said school counselors regularly check printouts of students' academic status to pinpoint problems. Out of the more than 300 students expected to take part in graduation at North Medford, Burrelle anticipates the school has problems with 5 percent or less. "A vast majority are beyond the minimum requirements," he said. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com |
