In the News: South San Francisco Unified School District Adds Extra Graduation Year

Framing the alternative as a sign of the district’s commitment to accommodating the needs of all students, Assistant Superintendent Keith Irish advocated for officials adopting the proposal.

“We believe in the South San Francisco Unified School District we want to exhaust every option under state law for students in specific situations to meet graduation requirements,” said Irish. “Unfortunately, we had some students in previous years that have left our district without a high school diploma or equivalency, where they could qualify if we had this in place.”

Irish noted new state law paved the way for the district to consider the option to offer another year of classes for students. Among those who could benefit from the option include those seeking DREAM Act eligibility; a high school diploma; eligibility for the University of California or California State University systems; additional English language proficiency; or other unique circumstances. Homeless students, those in foster homes or juvenile hall and migrant families could take advantage of the additional year as well.

Irish gave the example of a student who was one course away from being able to attend a CSU or UC. The student would be able to attend an additional year of high school to meet those requirements, but they would have to take a full year of classes while meeting the minimum unit requirements for a full-time student. Students would not be able to take a single course or just one semester of classes to fulfill their graduation requirements under the new policy, so the mandated course would need to be supplemented with electives to round out a full course schedule.

He also acknowledged that while there may be a more direct path for students to access the credits needed to graduate at the local community colleges, there is a value to continuity offered at the local high schools.

To apply for the option, students should be on track to have 170 credits by the start of the fifth year and can be expected to meet graduation requirement within one year.

Those applying would need the endorsement of a school counselor, administrator plus the commitment of the student and their family or guardian. A standard agreement would require the student to maintain a 2.0 GPA, with 90% attendance record with no more than three tardies and a suitable behavior record for both semesters.

For his part, Irish made it clear that officials were not being asked to amend graduation standards but only grant alternatives to a select group of students.

“We are not changing requirements — just adding options,” he said.

In other business, district teachers rallied for higher salaries during the public comment portion of the meeting.

The perspectives shared by several members of the school community continue an ongoing push for higher teacher salaries. The comments follow similar perspectives shared in previous board meetings and community discussions.

Noting the pandemic has ramped up obligations for educators who are now working longer hours and taking on additional professional obligations to meet the needs of their students, educators said their salaries are inadequate.

“I am kindly asking that you consider a cost of living wage increase for the hard-working teachers in the SSFUSD,” said teacher Phil Naranjo.

Teachers have also noted the district’s pay scale is below that of neighboring school districts, and the access to a higher salary elsewhere has driven many educators away — yielding a high rate of teacher turnover in South San Francisco.

Because the item was not on the meeting agenda, officials could not address the comments.

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