NEW GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS?

[www.corbettoregon.com]

This was approved at the December 2013 school board meeting. Last five minutes of the meeting.
See here for audio and notes from this meeting: http://corbettpost.com/regular-board-meeting-12-18-2013/

Oregonian Article: http://www.oregonlive.com/gresham/index.ssf/2013/10/oregon_school_district_wants_t.html



See attached policy for more information on this discussion taking place on a Facebook Group
Some comments from that thread:

" College admittance does not equal enrollment. Randy Trani was very clear at the school board meeting last night that this is a tool to teach them how to apply to a college if they decide to at a later date....they are still free to do what ever they want after they graduate high school....admittance does not equal enrollment. " ( 9/19/2013 )

" Yes however if they do not do it, they will receive a "lesser" diploma."

" ....parents would have to pay no more than they were wanting to, or could pay...I would go for it being a class requirement also....I just think it is good to teach the kids this skill. Make is less of a barrier in case it applies in the future for them."

"District would pay for all SAT tests. I think Mt. Hood doesn't charge an application fee ? So, if you as a parent you want your child to go to OSU ($50) then you could pay for that, but if your student doesn't plan on going to college you could apply at Mt Hood. I believe that was the thought behind you wouldn't have to pay more than you want to."

"Well isn't it amazing how we always have extra $ to throw at all these tests, AP & SAT's, that in my opinion should be paid for by parents (with scholarships available to kids in need)....yet when people ask about adding in other programs, vocational trainings etc. to offer our kids more options, we're told we don't have the funding to do that! Hmmm could it be that by making things mandatory in order to tout our record & stats we're actually holding our kids back from other valuable experiences because those kinds of things don't earn us bragging rights like AP for all & all graduates admitted to college! Personally I don't care about bragging rights, what I care about is my kids having multiple experiences & options not just those deemed important to building recognition for our district."

"Just a quick update, I did want to let you know the addition of admittance to college as a graduation requirement was pulled from the consent agenda due to the number of letters/concerns received. However it was "read" and discussed and is being heavily pushed. It will be "read" 2 more times before it's officially voted on. I will get full meeting notes up in the next few days."

"Everyone has their own opinions on this I am sure. The process of being admitted is more than applying I think. I am not positive, but I don't think you need to take the SATs to be admitted to a community college. I do not feel like they are stepping into parent territory - I feel like they are coming along beside me as a parent in this way. I have seen plenty of teenagers rebuke anything their parents have to say...teachers too I suppose, but at least the school keeps trying new ways to benefit our kids. Even if it isn't exactly the right fit for all, the fact that they keep trying speaks a lot to me."

[myownopinions]

September 16, 2013

To the Corbett School Board and Superintendent Randy Trani,

I am commenting on the requirement for admission to a secondary institution for graduation. Corbett’s unflinching commitment to AP and college prep is a double edged sword. Not all brains are wired for college. Not all humans excel at academic education. Our diversity as a human race is to be celebrated. It is incorrect to assume that a school knows what is best for each student and to assume that that “best” is college.

Some of the statistics regarding college and college graduates:
The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that unemployment rates for college grads has ranged from 17.6% in 2009 (26.6% in 2009 if you were male) to 13% for 2011 grads. If all college graduates are lumped together, the figure falls to 4.9% which is misleading because it applies to all college graduates, not just the most recent grads and also includes graduates working in jobs that don’t use their degree.

Marty Nemko, a nationally recognized career coach has written extensively about college education. He notes that if someone graduates in the bottom 40% of their high school class and goes to college, 76 of 100 won’t earn a diploma, even after 8.5 years. He also notes that 45% of college students never graduate.

CNN Money noted in a June 25, 2013 article that roughly 36% of college graduates are working in a job that doesn’t require a college degree. They are part of what we now call the “mal-employed.” Many of these graduates have large student loans, are working at the local Starbucks and being denied home loans because of their poor debt to income ratio.

One point that is re-iterated over and over is that your major matters. Those with degrees in accounting, engineering or computer science are more likely to find college level work. Their degrees will pay for themselves. I am excited to see us working on a STEM program.
It is true that the majority of students entering college are grossly underprepared for the required coursework. Our rigorous classes will help prepare the students that are interested in going to college for real life in college. However, Marty Nemko notes that even high school students who are fully qualified to attend college are increasingly unlikely to derive enough benefit to justify the often six-figure cost and four to eight years it takes to graduate.

If the admissions process is one of the biggest hurdles to getting students to college, I worry about how they will fare once they are there. Maybe having them go through the admissions process is a good idea. Maybe they should learn more real life skills. The admissions process to college will only be the first of many admissions and applications processes in their lives. Buying a home and negotiating the claims process at a health insurance company are only two of the many application and admission oriented tasks that will confront them as they enter adulthood. I am all for teaching students how to negotiate real life tasks they will face in the future. If we would like to see students walk through an admissions process, I think that we should also help them do a cost analysis of college. How much will they be making if they get a job after graduation? How much will their student loan payments be? What other expenses will they have when they graduate? What other endeavors could they be pursuing during that four to eight year period besides college? What really matters to each student? John Taylor Gatto, a New York City and New York State teacher of the year in the 1990’s wrote an excellent article titled, What Really Matters. He asks, “Does going to school matter if it uses up the time you need to start a business, to learn to grow vegetables, to explore the world or make a dress? Or if it takes away time to love your family? What matters in a good life?”

I think the admissions process should be optional or incorporated into a class. Oregon law states that we must give a student who has met all state requirements for graduation an “alternative certificate.” Giving those students something not called a “high school diploma” creates a needless distinction and, what’s more, treats those students as being inferior to their peers. In an Oregonian article from Tuesday, May 29, 2012, Robert J. Samuelson comments that “the primacy of the college-prep track marginalizes millions of students for whom it’s disconnected from “real life” and unrelated to their needs.” Let’s make sure that our students that don’t fit the college prep track are not marginalized.

If we were to brainstorm what we thought was “best” for our kids I think we would agree that we would all like to see our children be able to grow into work that they enjoy doing and that brings them financial stability and offers the community and world something of value. There are many paths to this goal and we should do our best as a school and community to see that all of the options are presented to our students objectively. I think that in a public school, where the majority of the employees are college educated, creating a way to look at the future in an unbiased manner is going to be difficult but we should try.

Sincerely,
April Eaton 

[www.corbettoregon.com]

http://corbettpost.com/regular-board-meeting-12-18-2013/

Last five minutes of the meeting this was voted on.