By Adelle MacDowell
According to a January data review on the Class of 2020 progress toward graduation, 26 out of the 115 students in the class of 2020 are not on track to graduate. An additional 55 students were “flagged” by the report as being potentially off-track.
“When we saw those numbers we knew that we needed to change some of our expectations for students to graduate and communicate more clearly to students what’s expected of them to graduate,” said LUHS Guidance Counselor Ian Trombulak.
According to the report, students who have struggled in Math and Science courses are many of the flagged students. Systemic issues, such as students transferring to LUHS with Carnegie-based transcripts, have also been an obstacle.
Since the report in January, the guidance department has been creating an “on ramp,” to address the identified areas of concern.
According to Trombulak, the on ramp will address both wrinkles in the system that need to be ironed out, as well as building individual plans to help students more effectively meet proficiencies to graduate.
“We’ve been able to take a closer look at the proficiencies that are giving kids trouble and the proficiencies that are working out really well …We’re trying to build on our strengths and move forward in a direction that’s gonna give kids credit for the good faith, honest effort they’ve put into high school,” Trombulak said.
Lori Lisai, Lamoille’s Innovation Coordinator, was also optimistic that the system can change to fix the challenges. “We are working on a plan to ensure the class of 2020 has what they need to graduate next year,” she said.
Blue & Gold 