Goshen school board votes to reduce graduation credit requirement

Jun. 15—GOSHEN — Goshen High School students will now need three less credits to graduate following action by the Goshen School Board Monday evening.

At the meeting, board members unanimously approved a request by Barry Younghans, principal of GHS, to reduce the high school's current minimum credit requirement of 43 credits down to the state-mandated minimum of 40 credits.

Younghans initially brought the request to the board back in early May as a discussion item, during which he indicated that he feels reducing the credit minimum from 43 to 40 would be a major benefit to those students struggling to earn enough credits to graduate, while not hindering those who have no issues earning the minimum amount.

In explaining the rationale for his suggestion, Younghans noted that the extra three credits currently required to graduate come from elective areas, which he says can be problematic for those students who are struggling just to pass all of their mandatory classes, let alone additional electives.

"Adding three additional elective credits to students who are struggling is not meeting their needs," Younghans said when introducing the suggestion back in May.

He reiterated that belief during Monday's board meeting.

"We feel like that's still the right thing to do, and still the best thing to do for our kids," Younghans said of the proposed change. "It allows our kids who are excelling, and have plenty of room and credits, to take any elective they want, and it gets our kids who are struggling, who may need to take additional English classes or math classes to graduate, it gives them the flexibility to do that."

According to Steven Hope, superintendent of Goshen Community Schools, adding additional credits to graduation minimums became fairly common during the late 1980s and early 1990s, as at the time it was thought that more credits equaled a greater level of educational rigor.

However, Hope noted that Indiana currently sets the bar for graduation at 40 credits for all public high schools, and reducing GHS's credit minimum from 43 to 40 will simply bring the high school in line with all other public high schools from across the state.

"And I just want to reiterate, this does not lower the standard for Goshen High School at all," Hope added of the change. "It puts us on an even playing field with all of the schools in Indiana, and almost all of our students earn well beyond 40 credits."

With his request now approved, Younghans noted that his plan for the change will be to implement the new policy beginning with the class of 2022.

BACK-TO-SCHOOL PLAN

Also Monday, board members approved the district's back-to-school pandemic plan for the upcoming 2021-22 school year.

According to Hope, the plan is virtually identical to the plan utilized by the school corporation during the 2020-21 school year.

"The GCS Pandemic Plan offers a tiered and flexible approach with clear and actionable guidelines, ranging from pandemic-free schooling to a complete shutdown of schools," the plan notes. "This plan provides GCS employees, students and parents the guidance needed to move from one course of action to another based on the pandemic conditions.

"This plan is built upon the guidance and recommendations of health officials; it is strongly aligned to the guidelines that have been provided by our state and county leaders; and it is designed to help prioritize the health and safety of students and staff as we open school buildings and deliver instruction for the 2021-22 school year," the plan continues. "The GCS school board, led by the superintendent, the GCS Pandemic Task Force Team, and staff have collaborated with appropriate stakeholders to focus on the immediate needs to prepare for school operations under the current pandemic."

As approved, the 2021-22 pandemic plan — like the 2020-21 plan — is built upon five courses of action that allow the school environment to respond to the severity of the pandemic. A breakdown of those courses and what they entail is as follows:

—Course I — Course I is a reference point and is simply the regular GCS schedule. This schedule would be used only if the pandemic ends.

—Course II — Course II would be used in times when the pandemic is in check, with new cases either stagnant or declining. Course II utilizes the regular GCS schedule and requires all students and staff to follow current guidance and recommendations of health officials regarding masks and physical distancing.

—Course III — In times of increasing cases and increased related hospitalizations, Course III would be employed. Course III incorporates the same personal protective equipment and physical distancing and then adds an eLearning component. Students in grades K-4 would have a shortened day, with eLearning for specials. Grades 5-12 would have an eLearning day every Wednesday.

—Course IV — Course IV would be employed in times of rapidly expanding cases and hospitalizations. These more severe modifications would respond to the greater risks in the environment and would help diminish the number of cases. Course IV has only 50% of students attending each day on an alternating schedule and employs an eLearning day for all grades.

—Course V — Course V would be used in a time of severe pandemic or a shutdown of all Indiana schools. Course V has all students learning online at home.

"It's really just the same plan that really made us successful for this last school year," Hope added of the request prior to Monday's vote. "There's just a minor revision to Course II, which just calls for us to follow the current guidance from the CDC."

The plan was approved unanimously.

John Kline can be reached at john.kline@goshennews.com or 574-533-2151, ext. 240315. Follow John on Twitter @jkline_TGN.