School district administrators across the state are working to adopt new graduation requirements for the class of 2021 that could exempt up to four credits for those struggling to make the grade during the pandemic.
Aberdeen Superintendent Dr. Alicia Henderson said the district school board is likely to adopt a resolution in the coming month that will allow the waiver of up to four credits, two core classes or up to four electives, for the class of 2021. Currently, up to two elective credits can be waived to help a student meet the 26-credit graduation requirement for 2021 seniors at Aberdeen High School. The State Board of Education recently approved an emergency waiver allowing two additional credits and allowing a total of two credits of core classes to be waived.
“There’s likely to be few students in that category, in part because we have had the trimester (system) that had the additional credits,” says Henderson. She doesn’t believe that many of her seniors will be affected.
“But I think there’s an effort under way throughout the state and nation to ensure that our kids are not adversely affected by school closures, particularly in regards to graduation.” says Henderson, noting that additional concessions for graduation requirements are being considered for the 11th through 9th grades. That hasn’t been detailed yet, and Henderson is hoping that those students can recover the lost time through the district’s extended learning program this summer.
