Shown is the graduation ceremony for Wawasee High School in 2021. Photo by Nicolette Carlson.

By Tim Ashley
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — Especially beginning with the class of 2023, high school graduation requirements in Indiana public schools are changing significantly. No longer will the Core 40 diploma be the only requirement for students to graduate.

“It is very complicated,” said Kevin Taylor, guidance counselor at Wawasee High School since 2007, summing up the graduation requirements.

Current seniors of the class of 2022 can still graduate by passing standardized testing or get a Pathways diploma with six credits in a specific career pathway. Then beginning with the class of 2023, or this year’s juniors, there will be more specific requirements, Taylor noted. And those requirements will also be for the class of 2024, or current sophomores.

Students will be required to get six credits in a career academic sequence or more specifically in what are known as Pathway Concentrator Courses. One example would be taking Welding Technology I followed by Welding Technology II.

Current freshmen, the class of 2025, not earning an Academic Honors or Technical diploma will be required to take next level programs of study, or certain courses in order to meet the career pathway. There would be an introduction level course followed by second and third courses.

“Overall, it is positive for the kids,” Taylor commented, noting they can earn credits needed for the pathway in one year. He said Wawasee is trying to stay ahead of the requirements as much as possible.

“We want them (freshmen) to be aware of the options they have to start early,” he said.

Currently Wawasee has classes offered for more than 20 career pathways but that number could increase in coming years. Students can still earn academic honors or technical honors diplomas if they meet specific requirements.

Essentially the emphasis by the Indiana Department of Education is “for students being ready for life beyond high school and moving away from standardized testing as a requirement to graduate,” said Geoff Walmer, principal of WHS. “The state is saying, ‘OK, you have the Core 40 diploma, but what else do you have to show you are prepared for success after high school?’”

Taylor said it is more challenging for students who fall behind early in high school to make up the requirements needed to graduate. “It’s harder to get everything in,” he said, adding there are only so many available slots for courses.

Staffing can also become a problem because there may not be enough teachers available to teach required courses.

“There is certainly value in what they (the state) are doing, but they have not taken away any requirements; they have only added them,” Taylor said.

For more specific information on graduation requirements visit www.wawasee.k12.in.us and click on the link for Wawasee High School or call (574) 457-3147 and ask for the guidance department.