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Rutherford County board discusses diplomas, graduation ceremonies for youth in detention
Summary
Board members discussed how students who graduate while in the county detention facility receive diplomas, ceremonies the facility holds, and asked staff to bring recommendations to the next meeting.
At the Rutherford County Juvenile Detention Oversight Board meeting April 14, members discussed how youth who complete high-school requirements while in custody receive diplomas and whether the board should formally acknowledge those graduations.
Board members said the facility conducts small, family-centered graduation ceremonies and that diplomas may come from different sources depending on how the student completed coursework. Lynn Duke, a facility staff member who presented the education report, described the facility's practice: "What we do is we have a cap and gown that the the youth will wear. We play the graduation song as they come into, a room that we use where they have, parents and, or, legal guardians.... They have food of their choice. Mister Henley will frame a certificate for them, and, generally, he'll get flowers for the mom, and then they can hang out for several hours." Duke said the framed certificate is sometimes used as a placeholder until the student's official diploma arrives.
The board discussed which institution issues the diploma. Duke said some youth complete coursework through an online program called Penn Foster and would receive documentation from Penn Foster; students who complete work through their home high school would receive that high school's diploma. "If they're enrolled in, an online service called Penn Foster, it would be from the Penn Foster. Now if they are doing their schoolwork from, you know, Riverdale High School or Oakland or any of the local high schools, then it would be from, that local high school," Duke said.
Board members emphasized parity: a member said the diploma awarded while a student is completing work in custody "is in no way a lesser high school diploma than somebody who's [outside the facility]." Another board member asked staff to consider ways the school board could acknowledge those graduations so the achievement is not overlooked.
Claire Maxwell, a board member, was asked to raise the issue with Dr. Sullivan (district leadership) and report back at the next meeting; the board requested any specific recommendation be brought forward. No formal policy change or vote on diplomas occurred during the meeting; the discussion was recorded as direction to staff and the school board to explore recognition options.
The board noted practical constraints: some ceremonies are arranged on short notice to match guardian availability, and privacy preferences sometimes lead families to decline a larger public acknowledgment. Board members also observed that students working individually through online or credit-recovery programs can graduate at different times of year, not only in May.
