Kids taking longer to graduate, but graduating nonetheless

Posted by Philissa at 10:48 AM

Advocates for Children got a shout out in the Times today in an article about how school districts nationwide are beginning to recognize that many students need more than four years to graduate from high school. New York is on the vanguard of cities studying dropouts and providing alternatives for students who have not been successful in traditional high schools. From the article:

The push for alternatives came in part because of a lawsuit from a nonprofit group, Advocates for Children, which charged that many lagging students were being pushed out of school against their will. The suit was settled, and schools now conduct 'exit interviews' with students who want to leave the system and suggest alternatives.

Although the DOE would like to see kids graduate on time, it makes sense that some would need to take longer, given the fact that only about a third start high school performing on grade level in reading and math.