Fresh students file into high school with new expectations.
by Lauren Abrams
photo by Kevin Fleming
The class of 2011 is the first to experience the new graduation requirements in hopes that they will be better prepared for higher education.
The new requirements are that each student must obtain 40 semester hours of Language Arts, 30 semester hours of Social Studies, 30 semester hours of Science, 40 semester hours of Math, 20 semester hours of academic electives, 20 semester hours of a world language, and finally 10 semester hours of a physical education class.
According to Assistant Principal Scott Lessard, Thomas Jefferson is focusing on preparing students for the next level of education. “We want to make sure each student has what they need to qualify for a four-year college,” said Lessard.
Many teachers are aware that there are going to be some downsides to these new changes. “I think it’s a great concept, but I had difficulty with math through my schooling years, so I can sympathize with kids who will have a hard time with four years of math,” said Counseling Office Assistant Julie Shacklock.
Because of this newly apparent conflict, TJ has come up with alternatives for kids who might have more trouble completing all of the requirements. “Our main alternative is the credit recovery center for students who get behind using the online Plato Web Program,” said Lessard.
The Plato Web program is new to TJ. There’s no required curriculum time for the completion of the classes, so students can come in whenever they need to during the school day to complete these online classes. Students must have failed the class for which they need credit recovery in to be eligible for the program.
Students aren’t the only ones being affected by these changes. “The new requirements don’t affect me now. They will later on, because more kids are required to pass chemistry or physics. As of right now, I teach Physical Science and Physics, but after this year I will most likely only be teaching Physics and will have completely full classes,” said TJ Science Department teacher Nelson Vore.
When asked if he’s challenging his students more now due to these new requirements, Vore simply answered, “I always have and I always will challenge my students.”
