After two years of discussion and meetings with teachers, counselors, parents, higher education and business community members, the Durango School District 9-R school board is planning to vote on its new graduation guidelines for the Class of 2021 on Tuesday.
The board set the deadline of December 2016 for the approval of the guidelines so middle school counselors can begin advising eighth-graders – next year’s freshmen – on how to arrange schedules to learn what they need to graduate.
“The challenge is preparing them for jobs that we don’t even know what they might be,” 9-R spokeswoman Julie Popp said. “We do know they’re going to have to be self-motivated, and self-discipline is important now.”
The Colorado Department of Education mandated new graduation standards for the state effective with the Class of 2021, but 9-R’s board took the option of raising some of its standards to require more than the state.
“These are all high standards we’re requiring of our kids, and they’re competency-based for grades K-12,” said Andy Burns, president of the 9-R board. “We should be making sure they’ve reached competency levels long before they walk across that stage at graduation. And those aren’t determined just in the 12th grade, but in the third grade, the fifth grade and the eighth grade. We want those checkpoints all along the way.”
The district will measure science and social studies, although the state doesn’t require that.
In addition, 9-R will require higher test scores on Advanced Placement, the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery and Accuplacer.
The district is adding the 11th grade Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test in addition to the SAT as an assessment where students can demonstrate what they know.
“For students who haven’t demonstrated proficiency on the other assessments,” Burns said, “A 3 or higher in math and English (portion of the PARCC) is now deemed college ready within Colorado. We had a high number of students who scored a 3 or higher when we gave the test two years ago.”
There have been several subjects that required extensive input, including languages, math and community service and internships.
These are the draft guidelines the board will consider Tuesday:
Students will be required to take one year of a modern language. Not only do colleges require at least two years, many businesspeople who talked with the board said language skills were necessary for the workforce in industries such as hospitality and construction. Jerry Martinez, owner of CJ’s Diner, told the board employees need to speak Spanish to work in his kitchen.9-R Superintendent Dan Snowberger said, “One year gives them some exposure, and if they decide to go to college when they’re a senior, they’re not two years away from correcting that lack. With the advising we have in place now, it puts every student back in reach of college. We’re also looking at middle school to make sure they have common access available, so students can ramp up on languages in earlier grades; right now, there’s more access at Miller than Escalante.”
Students will be required to have the equivalent of four years of math, but once Algebra II is completed, the fourth year may be elective math classes such as accounting or construction math. This will allow students planning to enter the workforce to learn applied math, and 9-R will work with Southwest Colorado Community College on concurrent enrollment to offer some of the classes.Students will be required to have the equivalent of 60 hours of real world experience, which may be completed by working, perhaps at a summer job, an internship, community service or a concurrent enrollment class at SWCCC, Fort Lewis or San Juan colleges.
Students will be required to have the equivalent of four years of math, but once Algebra II is completed, the fourth year may be elective math classes such as accounting or construction math. This will allow students planning to enter the workforce to learn applied math, and 9-R will work with Southwest Colorado Community College on concurrent enrollment to offer some of the classes.Students will be required to have the equivalent of 60 hours of real world experience, which may be completed by working, perhaps at a summer job, an internship, community service or a concurrent enrollment class at SWCCC, Fort Lewis or San Juan colleges.“Students have been graduating without realizing what it takes to be successful in the real world,” Snowberger said. “There’s a rigor they’re going to face no matter which path they take. And we’ve learned some students have a phobia about not being able to handle the work at a two-year college or who attend a two-year school about not being able to handle the work at a four-year college. At (Durango) Big Picture High School, they must successfully complete a college course to graduate – and those students have told us how well that prepared them.”
abutler@durangoherald.com
Draft graduation guidelines (PDF)
Graduation guidelines letter (PDF)
If you go
A final opportunity for public comment on increased graduation standards will be available at the Durango School District 9-R’s school board meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Boardroom, which is located in the 9-R Administration Building, 201 E. 12th St. The public comment section will take place 45 minutes to an hour into the meeting.
