School Board adopts newgraduation requirements

The New Richmond Board of Education has approved new graduation requirements that will reduce the number of credits required for graduation to 20 credits by 2014 to match new state standards.

Superintendent Adam Bird’s recommendation that the school board reduce requirements for graduation from the current 23 credits to 21 in 2012 and 2013 and to 20 for 2014 and beyond was approved by a vote of 5-0 at the Jan. 20 board meeting. The state currently requires 21 credits but will reduce that to 20 credits in 2014.

“We’re trying to create a system and schedule that is flexible for our students and we have found requiring our students to get 23 credits limits their flexibility in scheduling college prep and AP courses,” explained Bird. “What we have now also inhibits students taking post-secondary courses at Clermont College which gives them high school and college credit at the same time.”

Current New Richmond High School students are required to have 4 credits each in English, mathematics and science, 5 electives credits, 2 credits of American history, 1 credit of American government, 1 credit of practical arts (industrial technology and business), 1 credit in fine arts (art and music) and ½ credit each in health and physical education.

The 2012-2013 requirements of 21 credits will be achieved by reducing electives to 4 credits, science to 3 ½ credits, American government to ½ credit, American history to 1 credit, practical arts to ½ credit and the addition of 1 ½ credits in social studies.

The reduction to 20 credits in 2014 will be achieved by dropping the ½ credit for practical arts and reducing the science requirement to 3 credits.

Also included in the new graduation requirements are:

• Students who participate in interscholastic athletics or cheerleading for two full seasons will be exempt from the physical education requirement but must take another course of at least 60 contact hours.

• Students pursuing career-technical programs at Grant JVS will be exempt from the fine arts requirement.

• Science units must include 1 unit of physical sciences, 1 unit of life sciences and 1 unit of advanced study (chemistry, physics, advanced biology, astronomy or other physical, life or earth or space science).

• Elective units must include one or any combination of foreign language, fine arts, business, career-technical education, family and consumer sciences, technology, agricultural education, English language arts, mathematics, science or social studies courses not otherwise required.

• All students must receive instruction in economics and financial literacy during grades 9-12 and must pass all sections of the Ohio Graduation Test and complete a minimum of 20 community hours to graduate.

Students will not be limited on the number of credits they may take in high school under the new standards and will have the opportunity to graduate in 3 ½ years.

“They could go into the military or start college early if they wanted,” noted Bird. “There are students who are looking to be accepted by a select university are going way beyond 23 and many of their electives are college prep or AP courses. Those students will still have the opportunity to get 25, 26 or 27 credits.”