News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Several Sisters students want to participate in graduation ceremonies this June, although they don't have the 26 credits required for a Sisters High School diploma.
The Sisters School Board wrestled with the question of whether to make graduation requirements more flexible to accommodate special circumstances at their meeting Monday night, April 13.
Since the high school opened six years ago, no student has gone through the graduation ceremony with less than 26 credits, according to school staff.
The issue immediately affects seven students in the Flex school, an alternative education program for students who had trouble in the regular school system. It also impacts one junior student who has been accepted for early admission to college.
The Flex school students receive 22 credits, qualifying for an Oregon state diploma. This is the first year Sisters students are to graduate from the program, according to high school principal Dennis Dempsey. The Flex school plans its own graduation ceremony.
Mary Arvidson, mother of one of the Flex school students, argued that they should not be excluded from the regular graduation ceremony. She told the board that when her son entered the Flex program, she was told he could participate in graduation. She did not say who told her that.
The junior student, Brooke Lyons, will have 23 credits. According to her parents, Ron and Tina Lorenz, she has been offered a scholarship to attend a small Midwestern liberal arts college as a music major.
Lyons has maintained a 4.0 grade-point average and is regarded as an outstanding music student. She can get a state high school diploma and move on to college, but she wants to participate in the Sisters High School graduation.
Principal Dempsey argued for maintaining a consistent 26-credit standard.
"When the school was opened, the standard was set and I've never wavered once," Dempsey said. "To me it's pretty much black and white, and it has to be from a principal's standpoint."
Schools Superintendent Steve Swisher told The Nugget that, in past years, students with 25-1/2 credits have been unable to participate in graduation ceremonies. They can get their Sisters High School diploma by finishing in summer school, or attending a fifth year or with COCC courses.
Swisher further noted that, last year, Jesse Boley graduated as a junior with the full complement of 26 credits.
The credit level at Sisters High School is higher than other schools in the region, Swisher acknowledged.
Board members and staff noted that policy must fit the needs of the whole school, which makes it difficult to deal with unique cases, especially that of a high-achiever like Lyons.
"This isn't about Brooke," said high school councilor Charlie Kanzig. "She's obviously proven herself."
The board elected to further study the question, and discuss it again in an April 27 meeting.
New board member Guy Gleason said that there might be a variety of approaches to the problem, but "I don't think we do best re-writing policy under pressure from emotional issues."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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