Are Visalia school board members hindering your child's chances of going to college?
Visalia Unified is once again looking at adjusting its high school graduation requirements to better align with four-year college and university prerequisites.
California State University and University of California systems expect students to meet minimum subject requirements — also known as A-G course requirements — including a minimum of three years of math.
Currently, Visalia Unified high school students are required to take a minimum of two years of math in order to graduate, leaving many with limited college options, if any, come June.
“Outcomes don't change unless you change expectations, and we have a very low set of expectations for graduating in Visalia,” Superintendent Kirk Shrum said. “I think it's time we take this issue off the table... this is the first step to go down that road.”
This isn’t the first time school board members have tossed around the idea of requiring its high school students to take three years of math — the issue was brought to the attention of school leaders five-plus years ago.
Among the slides from a February 2017 board meeting include one that states, "we need to increase the required years of math courses expected for all students to be college and career ready."
Visalia Unified staff and administration have been supportive of the change, while school board members have been hesitant to embrace the minimum threshold.
Initially, the plan was to start with the 2022 graduating class based on staff recommendation, though that was quickly pushed to the graduating class of 2024.
An updated presentation revisiting the requirement was given to school board members in January 2020. Still, again, board members decided to push the graduation requirement to start with the graduating class of 2025.
The idea was brought back to the table once again during a board planning session on Aug. 19.
If board members accept the revised math requirements proposed during Tuesday night’s meeting, the graduation requirements would start with the class of 2027.
For current high school students, nothing is changing; however, students interested in attending four-year schools after graduation should look over their transcripts (usually with the guidance of a school counselor) in order to see what A-G requirements they currently do not meet.
“I think this is a great first step in the right direction,” Area 6 Trustee Randy Villegas said. “I would like our board to go beyond this... no district in the Central Valley has aligned their graduation standards to A-G. We have the opportunity to lead on this."
Visalia Unified trustees will listen to a second read of the proposed graduation requirement changes during the next board meeting on Sept. 13 before making a final decision.
Lauren Jennings covers education and news for the Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register. Follow her on Twitter @lolojennings. Get alerts and keep up on all things Tulare County for as little as $1 a month. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Are Visalia school board members hindering your child's chances of going to college?
