By LAURA HAMMACK, guest columnist
Brown County High School boasts an extraordinary graduation rate. In school year 2015-16, we witnessed 99.3 percent of our students graduate with a diploma. While the graduation rate has not yet been certified for 2016-17, we are on track to meet that same standard. Attaining this achievement means extremely hard work on behalf of the students, their families and our educators.
Sadly, the graduation rate at Brown County High School will take a massive hit this year because new federal rules have removed the general diploma option from counting toward our graduation rate.
Currently, our high school students have an ability to attain a general diploma, Core 40 Diploma, Core 40 with Academic Honors Diploma or Core 40 with Technical Honors Diploma.
Recent federal mandates under the Every Child Succeeds Act require states to calculate their graduation rate based on the diploma received by the preponderance of students. The diploma conferred to the majority of students in the state of Indiana is the Core 40 diploma.
Therefore, because the general diploma is not awarded to the majority of students in Indiana, the number of students who receive a general diploma from Brown County High School will no longer be factored into our graduation rate.
To illustrate how much of a difference this will make, in school year 2015-16, 42 percent of our graduates earned the general diploma. If the new standard had been applied during that school year, we would have had a graduation rate of 57 percent. Instead, our graduation rate was 99.3 percent.
The Core 40 diploma was initially implemented by the state of Indiana as the diploma option that would allow students who matriculated through the coursework to be prepared to advance to four-year institutions of higher learning. The coursework includes 40 total required credits, including advanced coursework such as Algebra II, chemistry or physics and economics.
The general diploma also requires 40 total credits but does not require Algebra II, chemistry/physics or economics. It’s not that students don’t take more math or science, it’s just that they are given more flexibility in choosing math courses beyond Algebra I and biology.
With our recent introduction via the Regional Opportunities Initiative grant to the regional opportunities that are available to our students when they graduate from high school or college, it is amazing to hear what future employers are looking for from their employees. There are high-wage jobs in high-demand fields that only require a general diploma from high school.
Employers are desperate to fill these positions and are asking school districts to focus more time on developing “soft skills” that our students can deploy in the workforce. Soft skills include basics such as showing up to work on time, coming to work every day, working together as a team and being able to think and problem-solve. All of this can be satisfied within general diploma coursework.
Interestingly, there was one more requirement that the employers shared that really made an impact. We learned that high-wage jobs are available in our region to our students the day after they graduate from Brown County High School; however, these jobs are available only to individuals who can pass a drug screen.
We have to get our students to understand that real opportunity is available to those who stay away from illegal drug use. We are committed to ensuring that our students understand that this is an issue coming from future employers who desperately want to hire them for a lifetime of security in a field that gives back to our region.
We are struggling with these new ramifications for diploma requirements.
We strongly believe that every student who graduates from Brown County High School should have been prepared as result of their pre-K-through-12 experience to have options.
We believe that we have very capable students who should enter the workforce after graduation.
We believe that we have very capable students who should enter the military after graduation.
We believe that we have very capable students who should pursue a two-year post-secondary option.
We also believe that we have very capable students who should pursue a four-year post-secondary option.
What matters most is that all of these students should have access to a diploma that matters to the graduation rate for Brown County High School.
I am heartbroken to think that a student who achieves a general diploma — a student who does not drop out of high school — would not have their achievement recognized as something worth calculating in the graduation rate.
I am comforted by the fact that our state superintendent of public instruction is advocating for this new requirement to be changed for the state of Indiana.
Should you feel the same, that all students should have an option for graduation from Brown County High School, please advocate for this issue. We need to be a voice for all of our students on this very significant issue.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Contact your representative” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
U.S. Rep. Trey Hollingsworth
Indiana office
720 Executive Park Drive, Suite 3000B
Greenwood, IN 46143
Phone: 317-851-8710
Washington, D.C. office
1641 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-5315
[sc:pullout-text-end]Laura Hammack is superintendent of Brown County schools. She can be reached at 812-988-6601 or [email protected].
