Edmonds studies grad standards

The Edmonds School District is exploring new graduation requirements that place more emphasis on English and math.

The school board may vote on the changes within a few months, but has asked the district staff to answer several questions first.

The school board’s president, Mimi Terwilliger, said the district faces a balancing act: It wants to change requirements to help students be more successful, but doesn’t want to discourage struggling students.

A workshop Tuesday underscored the need to continue working closely with teachers and school staff, said Ken Limon, a school district assistant superintendent.

"We are still on a course to develop something for the class of 2008, but we want to make sure we have consulted with all of our staff and have really developed support for any proposal we put forward," he said.

The Class of 2008 enters high school in the fall, so any changes would need to be adopted early enough for students to plan their schedules.

Proposed changes include:

Increasing the requirement for English classes from three-and-a-half to four years.

Adding a second semester of social studies to the senior year. The district would shave a semester off the social studies requirement for the freshman year. The idea is to give students more awareness of international relations, economics, government and citizenship closer to the time they graduate and go to college or join the workforce, Limon said.

The district is also considering changing math requirements. Like other school districts, it is finding that many students must take remedial math classes once they enroll in college.

Limon said the question is: "Do we increase credits, or do we say regardless of the years or credits, do we want all kids to meet a certain standard?"

"We know the correlation between kids taking more math and their ability to pass the WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning), to get into college and to be economically successful, so we are wrestling with what that means in terms of graduation requirements."

The school district will host a math summit in February to try to determine the best way to get students to perform better in math. The summit is expected to include teachers, counselors and administrators, community college instructors, the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and a representative from the University of Washington.

Dan Wilson, president of the Edmonds Education Association, said teachers believe the district’s efforts are well intentioned. The teachers group will monitor what the new requirements might mean for electives, such as music and art, which it also considers to be important, he said.

Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.