Dickson County School System Raises the Academic Bar
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A relatively new school of thought in Dickson County says that all high school students should be on the same academic path – whether they plan to attend college or jump right into the workforce.
Dickson County Schools system is part of the Tennessee Diploma Project, an initiative by the state to raise the academic bar for all students. All students are required 22 credits upon graduation – instead of the previous 20 – with the first “22-credit class” graduating in 2013. As part of the initiative, all students are required to earn an additional credit in math, a half-credit in physical education, and a half-credit in a course called personal finance.
The Tennessee Diploma Project was a move by the state to get schools more in line with National Assessment of Educational Progress standards. NAEP assesses student academic progress in all states.
“One of the Tennessee Diploma Project goals is to have high school students take four years of math classes, and this will now be achieved,” says Devin Sisco, director of secondary education for Dickson County Schools.
In addition, Dickson County students must also have an initial career focus by the beginning of their sophomore year. At that point, they must choose from one of four broad areas of elective study in which they will ultimately earn three of their credits toward graduation.
Those four areas of elective study are STEM, which is science, technology, engineering and mathematics; humanities, which involves language arts, foreign languages and social studies; fine arts, which encompasses choral and instrumental music, visual arts and performing arts; and career technical education.
“Students must pull three total credits from one of those curriculums,” Sisco says. “And the Tennessee Diploma Project will ultimately have an effect on middle schools, too, because we need to be moving those young students toward greater academic capability – especially in the areas of math, science and language arts.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
