While the school year is coming to an end, juniors & seniors can start planning for what’s next. Depending on the career path a student wishes to pursue, graduating high school early can be the next big step.

“At the beginning of the year. Seniors apply to do early graduation and what that requires them to do is meet with their counselor. They do a full credit check. They make sure that they have all they’ll meet the requirements come to the end of December” said counseling coordinator, Kennedy. “Then they have to write a letter saying why they want to graduate early and what their plans are to finish in December and not come back in the spring.”

Gaining support from students’ selected counselors is significant. Creating a plan for life after high school plays a great part as well. Depending on that, graduating early isn’t always the best path. This is why students will need a letter from a parent providing permission for them to complete their credits early and not be here in the spring semester.

“Let the counselor know and then come August. If they’re still serious about completing early, they will do that application, meet with the counselor do the credit check, do the application and then the parents need parent permission and their letter and then the final approval is done by the principal who signs off on those,” Kennedy said.

Graduating high school won’t come easy. Taking a look at concurrent enrollment classes is crucial. This benefits a student’s academic plan that works for their individual needs in the hope to graduate early.

“When we build the student’s schedules, we try to build it with that in mind. I’ve already met with a couple of juniors who have told me, they’d like to possibly finish early,” Kennedy said. “They also have the opportunity to be here for the entire year next year if they choose to. So we give them time to think about it.”

If a student has finished their classes early, they still graduate with the class in May, but they finish their requirements early. Meaning, They have acquired the 22 credits and have to meet the state requirements, including the Capstone requirement.

“We like the students to put a lot of thought into it because it’s not always in their best interest to finish early because of college. Because sometimes colleges really want to see that extra semester of math, science, or a world language,” Kennedy said.