The Indiana Department of Education said it worked closely with school districts across the state to redesign its new high school graduation requirements that were approved this week. One of those districts, the Metropolitan School District of Bluffton-Harrison, is already preparing for the transition.
Steve Baker is the principal at Bluffton-Harrison High School. He said his district was involved throughout the entire process and is very supportive of the new diploma. The district is ready to opt-in students as soon as possible.
“We feel that some students can benefit from these new diplomas now, and so why wait?” he said.
The new diploma will be fully implemented for the class of 2029, but students can opt-in starting next school year. Any students who opt-in early will be required to earn a seal for enrollment, employment or enlistment. The seals show that a student has completed the necessary courses and requirements to enroll in college, enlist in the military or enter the workforce.
Bluffton-Harrison is a small, rural district south of Fort Wayne. Baker said about 50 percent to 55 percent of students graduate and attend college. Others go into agriculture or directly into the workforce after graduation.
Baker said small businesses in the community are especially excited about the new graduation requirements because they believe those requirements will strengthen the worker pipeline.
READ MORE: Indiana approves high school diploma overhaul after months of revisions, feedback
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However, there is still a lot of work to do before the new diploma is implemented for all students. Baker said he has a “war room” to help map out changes.
“I bring in my school counselors and my assistant principal and myself and a few other key teacher leaders, and we go in there, we shut the door and we’ll be in there for two hours,” he said. “We’ll throw it all on the board: What does our diploma currently look like, what will it look like, and which students can benefit from this?”
He said school officials at Bluffton-Harrison are trying to plan for any unforeseen costs or transportation issues that arise from the work-based learning parts of the new diploma.
Baker added that there are always questions and concerns when a new system is put in place, but he believes the new diploma will open up more possibilities to students in his district.
“This is going to give us some flexibility, some personalization for our students,” he said. “And I know this sounds cliché, but we want to do what’s best for students. This diploma’s going to open up some doors for us that we feel we can offer to our students.”
Kirsten is our education reporter. Contact her at kadair@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @kirsten_adair .
