South students to get new graduation requirements

The district has decided to participate in the New Jersey Scholars Program.

By: Linda Seida
   WEST AMWELL — Students at South Hunterdon Regional High School will have a better chance of catching the interest of employers and college admissions officers thanks to the school’s recently announced participation in the New Jersey Scholars program.
   The program sets minimum course requirements and promotes academic excellence, preparing students for their workload in college. School officials also hope the program will help prepare students for life after their years in the classroom.
   "All ninth-graders, beginning next year, will be given a college preparatory schedule," Superintendent Lisa Brady said.
   The minimum course load will include four years of English; three years of math, including algebra I, geometry and algebra II; three years of lab science, which must include biology, chemistry and physics; three years of social studies, which must include world history, U.S. I and U.S. II; two years of a foreign language and one year of economics.
   Currently, economics is an elective, not a requirement. Also, math requirements will be changed to ensure all students take the required courses.
   According to Principal Donald Woodring, the state’s requirements for graduation do not specify the inclusion of an economics course nor do they mandate the type of math that must be studied. State requirements also do not specify the need for a lab science, saying, instead, any science may be studied.
   "The real difference is making sure kids take Algebra II," Ms. Brady said. "The issue is, when they get to college, they still have to take two more years of math. It’s important to graduate, but it’s important to be successful where’re they’re going."
   What if where they’re going isn’t to a college classroom, but directly to work?
   "Some kids just want to be a mechanic," Ms. Brady acknowledged. "Well, they’ll be a smarter mechanic."
   The philosophy of the program is recognized across the state and across the country, Ms. Brady said. Proponents of the program say it leads to higher earnings in post-graduate years.
   In Ms. Brady’s superintendent’s report to the Board of Education, she said, "Each student who successfully completes these requirements by the time he or she graduates will be presented a New Jersey Scholars certificate. The data have shown that, even for non-college bound students, those who undertake and finish the rigorous coursework average higher income levels per year than those students who don’t assume an academic schedule as such.
   "For those students who do choose to attend college, those who complete the New Jersey Scholars requirements find themselves more prepared for the challenges of post-secondary education; they are also more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree.
   "In addition, with the New Jersey Scholars schedule, our students would be competitive at any college to which they might choose to apply."
   Participation in the program grants the school access to additional resources, including 12 curriculum units from grades six through 11; access to the Learn to Earn Web site, which offers features for faculty as well as students, such as a tracker to note which courses they’ve completed; and membership in the School Counts program.
   The School Counts program gives students a certificate each year for punctuality and a 95 percent attendance rate. Students must earn a grade of at least C in all classes and complete more than the minimum number of credits required for graduation, among other requirements.
   The New Jersey Scholars program also makes available to the school access to an online quiz called Technology Challenge, which tests their computer literacy, and access to Worth the Money, an online lesson for students in how to handle their finances.
   Some of the principles — being on time for a job, for instance, or even just showing up — sound like simple common sense. But Ms. Brady said the feedback from employers shows such instruction is necessary.
   "That’s their biggest issue with kids," she said. "Kids who come to work on time or come to work, period."
   She added, "Businesses in the county recognize the certificate."
   A $3,380 grant from the Lambertville Area Education Foundation has made the school’s participation in the program possible.