Palo Alto Unified School District Supt. Kevin Skelly listens in on a presentation at a March Board of Education meeting. Earlier this year, Skelly introduced a proposal that would beef up graduation requirements and allow select students to formulate customized graduation requirements.

– Jeffrey Lu

When it comes to high school graduation requirements, few phrases are better-rehearsed than “four years of English” — it’s a simple requirement for some students, an annoying hurdle for others.

Yet under a new initiative floated at a Board of Education meeting earlier this year, standardized graduation requirements could soon become a thing of the past. Back in January, Supt. Kevin Skelly introduced a plan that would phase in increased high school graduation requirements beginning with the Class of 2016. The plan — which calls for beefed-up standards in mathematics, science and world languages — has ignited a community debate over the costs and benefits of increased requirements. But often overlooked is a provision in the plan that would allow select students to create personalized, made-to-order graduation requirements.

“As time has gone on, one of the big concerns is about the kids who aren’t interested in” four-year colleges, such as the University of California system, Skelly said. “What if they’re interested in another path for themselves?” 

Under the proposal, “students with explicit post‐secondary plans that differ significantly from new graduation requirements,” transfer students or students with particular challenges would be able to establish customized graduation requirements.

“What we’ve tried to do in the proposal is also put in some language that encourages those kids who may not want to go to college, who have other aspirations, to really use their high school years effectively,” Skelly said.

Principal Phil Winston has expressed glowing support for alternative graduation requirements, noting that a multitude of careers — such as dental hygienists — don’t require four-year degrees. However, he admitted that the infrastructure for customized requirements does not yet exist. 

“I think it’s outstanding — it’s probably overdue,” Winston said of customized graduation requirements. “It’s going to require us to rethink the way that we deliver some services; it’s going to require us to grow; it’s going to require us to get more efficient. We get a chance to backwards design it.”

“As an organization supporting students, we have to be constantly improving,” he added. “This is just another opportunity for us to improve.”

Skelly suggested that Teacher Advisers could become the go-to person for arranging alternative graduation requirements, but stressed that any student interested in forming a customized high school plan should consult thoroughly with the adults around them.

“That’s the kind of conversation I want the parents and the kids and the staff to have,” Skelly said. “We believe that kids should maximize their experiences in our schools.”

Skelly stressed that alternative graduation requirements would not be for everyone, and that the district was not interested in lowering expectations by granting students “a free period or whatever filler course” in lieu of existing requirements.

Winston echoed this sentiment, adding that UC admission requirements would be used as the baseline standard for the majority of students under the proposal. 

“We’re still going to have high expectations for everybody,” Winston said. “Our job is open doors, not close them.”

The School Board will decide whether to adopt Skelly’s proposal later this year.