Dublin creates new diploma for higher achievers
The Dublin school board has approved yet another level of high school diploma students can earn if they go above the district’s minimum graduation requirements.
The new Advanced Scholars Diploma will be given to students meeting requirements they will likely need for admission into the University of California or California State University systems, school board President David Haubert said. Trustees approved the new diploma by a 5-0 vote Oct. 13, along with changes to the requirements for the district’s regular diploma and Diploma with Distinction.
Many students and their parents may not realize the minimum coursework required for UC and Cal State admission varies from the minimum coursework required for a high school diploma, district officials said, so the new requirements and new diploma create a road map for the students.
“These are all things you need to do to get into college,” Haubert said. He said the graduating class of 2011, this year’s juniors, would be the first eligible to receive the advanced diploma.
The district previously voted to raise graduation requirements, starting with the 2012 graduating class, to require those students to take classes qualifying them for the UC or Cal State systems in order to graduate. But budget cuts forced the district in January to relax the requirement because there wouldn’t be enough money to help students meet the higher standards.
Read the complete article by Eric Louie, Contra Costa Times.
