By LAURA HAMMACK, guest columnist
Our school district has identified a key challenge. Far too many of our students are graduating from Brown County High School without the skills to be college-, career- and life-ready.
In my last column, I shared a commitment we have made to our community, the Brown County Schools Graduate Profile. This profile illustrates the dispositions that students from Brown County High School will know and be able to do upon their graduation.
This column serves as part two of a three-part series. There are two significant state initiatives that have recently been implemented that support the dispositions contained within our BCS Graduate Profile. This column will detail the first state initiative, the graduation pathways. The next column will detail the second initiative, the Indiana Department of Education’s STEM Strategic Plan.
In order to meet the challenge of too many students graduating from high school without the skills to be college-, career- and life-ready, the Indiana State Board of Education developed a new model of graduation requirements. Previously, in order to qualify for graduation, students had to satisfy the requirements for completion of a diploma and also had to pass the 10th grade ISTEP+ test or earn a waiver for that assessment.
The new graduation pathways are the ways that all students across the state, beginning with the current eighth-grade class, will satisfy requirements for graduation. This is a very different plan from what we are currently deploying and we are working very hard to be prepared for this implementation.
The graduation pathways were deployed to ensure that all Hoosier students graduate with three key skills: 1) a broad awareness of and engagement with individual career interests and associated career options; 2) a strong foundation of academic and technical skills; 3) demonstrated employability skills that lead directly to meaningful opportunities for post-secondary education, training and gainful employment.
Beginning with our current eighth-grade class (the class of 2023), all Indiana high school students must satisfy all three of the following graduation requirements: 1) earn a high school diploma; 2) learn and demonstrate employability skills; and 3) demonstrate post-secondary ready competencies. I will “unpack” what each of these mean below.
Earn a high school diploma. In order to satisfy this requirement, a student must meet the statutorily defined diploma credit and curricular requirements for a general diploma, Core 40 diploma, Academic Honors diploma or a Technical Honors diploma.
Learn and demonstrate employability skills. In order to satisfy this requirement, a student must satisfy one of these three experiences: 1) complete a project-based learning experience; 2) complete a service-based learning experience; or 3) complete a work-based learning experience. The Indiana State Board of Education has provided school districts with guidance indicating how each of these experiences are demonstrated. We are currently working to define what these options will look like and how they can be offered at Brown County High School.
Demonstrate post-secondary-ready competencies. In order to satisfy this requirements, a student must satisfy one of these achievements: 1) fulfill all requirements for an Academic Honors or Technical Honors diploma; 2) earn college-ready benchmarks on the ACT; 3) earn college-ready benchmarks on the SAT; 4) earn a minimum score on the ASVAB/AFQT to qualify for placement into one of the branches of the United States military; 5) earn a state- or industry-recognized credential or certification; 6) participate in a state-, federal- or industry-recognized apprenticeship; 7) earn at least a C average or higher in a career sequence; 8) earn a C or higher in at least three AP/dual credit courses, or; 9) complete a locally developed pathway that earns approval from the Indiana State Board of Education.
Clearly, these changes are significant! Where the previous model was a one-size-fits-all approach, this model allows flexibility for students to choose multiple ways to graduate that align with their interests, while advancing their career goals and skills. The theory behind this work is that offering flexibility through pathways will encourage the high school experience to be one that is relevant and ultimately increases student success.
Our district will celebrate the path that all of our students take — whether it is continuing their education in a post-secondary institution of higher learning, enlisting in the military or entering the workforce. With these new graduation pathways, students will be increasingly engaged in planning for life after graduation than ever experienced before. We are looking forward to the opportunity to develop and graduate students who are college-, career- and life-ready!
Laura Hammack is superintendent of Brown County schools. She can be reached at 812-988-6601 or [email protected].
