Santa Rosa schools reconsider policy on graduation

<p>Santa Rosa's school board tonight will re-examine its policy of prohibiting seniors who fail to pass the state high school exit exam from walking in graduation ceremonies and receiving a certificate of completion.</p><p>Santa Rosa, the county's largest district, stands alone in Sonoma County in requiring that all students pass the exit exam to participate in graduation ceremonies. </p><p>Since 2006, state law has required students to pass the exam before earning a diploma, but opponents of the district's policy long have advocated for students who have failed to pass the test to be given a certificate of completion associated with course work and be allowed to walk with their classmates on graduation day.</p><p>“They have completed what Santa Rosa has asked them to complete in terms of course of study,” said school board member Laura Gonzalez. “I think they should walk away with something that acknowledges that, including a certificate of completion and a chance to walk with their class.”</p><p>Gonzalez asked that the board take up the controversial issue that has sparked heated debate in education circles for years. The board will discuss the topic tonight, amid a packed agenda that includes a second round of budget cuts expected to slice $5.6. million from 2010-2011 school year spending.</p><p>“It came to my attention recently that we are the only school district in Sonoma County that doesn't allow it, so I think it warrants some examination. I think it merits fresh, new debate,” said trustee Tad Wakefield. “I hope we hear from the public, what they think.”</p><p>Of Santa Rosa City School's 1,812 high school seniors, about 1,700 have passed the exit exam, including those who are not otherwise on track to graduate for reasons that include having taken and passed too few classes, Superintendent Sharon Liddell said.</p><p>Among the seniors on track to graduate but who have failed to pass the exit exam are 28 deemed English language learners, 26 special education students and eight general education students.</p><p>Special education students do not necessarily need to pass the exit exam to receive a certificate of completion that is distinct to the special education program. They must complete a series of individualized requirements developed by a panel of educators.</p><p>All students can take the exit exam up to six times, beginning in their sophomore year.</p><p>Passage rates for sophomores taking the exit exam are a component of the federal No Child Left Behind law, which penalizes schools and districts for not making adequate yearly academic progress. Santa Rosa is in Year 2 of Program Improvement sanctions.</p><p>The district has pumped millions of dollars into exit exam support classes, counseling and tutoring programs. The district allocated $225,000 for preparatory classes and $550,000 for support counseling for those students at risk of not passing the exam this year, Liddell said.</p><p>“We have been putting more and more of our resources below 12th grade because we knew that we needed to get kids to be passing it earlier,” she said.</p><p>But advocates for a change in policy say a certificate of completion never will replace a diploma but is rather an acknowledgment of a student's commitment to their high school education and allows them a rite of passage — graduation ceremonies.</p><p>“No one is saying they should get a high school diploma,” said David Grabill, a longtime advocate of certificates of completion. “These are kids who are limited English speakers but who have hung in there through four years of high school. To say, well, they are going to set their sights lower because they can get a certificate of completion, I think that is just a poor excuse for a bad policy.”</p><p>Staff writer Kerry Benefield can be reached at 526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.</p><p>com.</p>