Generic Lauderdale County school bus

The Lauderdale County School district is making some changes to its graduation requirements. The new guidelines affect ninth graders starting with the 2018-2019 school year, said Cheryl Thomas, director of professional development and  5-12 curriculum director. 

The requirements affect students earning multiple endorsements, graduating with honors, leaving class early during their senior year, graduating early and meeting the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning and College Prep Curriculum requirements.

To graduate with honors students, must have a GPA of a 3.75 or higher and a GPA of a 4.0 or higher to graduate with highest honors. To graduate early, students must meet diploma endorsement requirements and not graduate earlier than December of their senior year.

Thomas said she has been meeting with principals at the schools to make sure students have met  the requirements, such as passing the four required state assessments. 

“We look at all the ways in which they can meet those graduation requirements,” Thomas said.

Options 

While the state was developing new graduation requirements, the district developed its own additional requirements. Since February, school officials have held meetings for parents of eighth-graders about the new requirements.

Thomas said students are required to choose from one of the three endorsements by the end of their eighth-grade year. Students may have more than one endorsement which can include having both an academic and career and technical endorsement, Thomas said.

Students have the option of choosing between a traditional and alternate diploma. The alternate option is not typically used, but can be completed in certain cases.

The traditional diploma has three endorsements: career and technical, academic and distinguished. Each of those diplomas requires a career and college readiness course, technology or computer science course and additional electives.  

The traditional diploma requires 24 Carnegie units, a GPA of 2.5, a passing score on all MAAP assessments and completion of essentials for college math or essentials for college literacy.

For a career and technical endorsement, students must have 28 Carnegie units, a GPA of 2.5 and earn the silver level on ACT WorkKeys. Students must also earn dual credit in CTE or articulated credit in a high school-based CTE course, work-based learning experience or career-pathway experience and earn a State Board of Education approved national credential. 

For students to earn an academic endorsement, they must complete 28 Carnegie units and have a GPA of 2.5. Their courses must meet an Institutions of Higher Learning college preparatory curriculum. Students must take complete one advanced placement course with a C or higher and take an AP exam. They also need a grade of C or higher in a dual credit course. Students also take additional math above Algebra I, additional English above English III and an additional science above Biology I.

For students to earn a distinguished endorsement, they must take additional English, math, and science courses. Students also must have a GPA of a 4.0 or above and earn national college-readiness benchmarks on each subtest of the ACT. Students must also complete six advanced placement dual credit courses and take the AP exam. Students choosing this option will need to have 30 Carnegie units to graduate.

“Our goal is to have every student college and career ready by the time they exit high school,” Thomas said.

Graduation rates 

The graduation rate for the Lauderdale County School District was 84.3 percent for the 2017-2018 school year, a dip from 86.3 percent during the 2016-2017 year. Even though there was a decrease, the district’s rate is usually higher than the state average of 84 percent.

In 2017-2018, Clarkdale High had a graduation rate of 89.1 percent; compared with 88.3 percent the previous year. Northeast High’s was 80.2 percent, compared to 80.7 percent the year before. 

Southeast High’s was 79.6 percent, compared to 83.2 percent the previous year. At West Lauderdale High, the rate was 88.6 percent in 2017-2018, compared to 94 percent in 2016-17.  

The numbers from the 2017-2018 school year will be used in the Mississippi Accountability Report card for the 2018-2019 school year, said Terri Edwards, the district’s K-4 curriculum director and test coordinator.