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Morgan High principal outlines plans to revise graduation requirements to expand CTE and early college pathways
Summary
Morgan High School is exploring changes to graduation requirements and scheduling to increase student access to concurrent enrollment, AP and career and technical education (CTE) pathways, a principal told the school board. The district is in early stages of studying statewide requirements and potential transition timelines.
Principal Luke Thomas told the Morgan County School District Board the high school is exploring adjustments to its graduation requirements and schedule to give students earlier access to concurrent enrollment, Advanced Placement and CTE offerings.
“We currently have around 8–15 class periods where students are taking home release and they are not taking advantage of our concurrent enrollment, our AP offerings, and also our CT offerings at the high school,” Thomas said. He said Morgan High students can accumulate up to 36 credits; the school requires 30 to graduate while the state requires 24.
Thomas said one model under consideration would move toward a 26-credit pathway that would let students reach required core credits sooner and use junior and senior years for concentrated advanced coursework or CTE training. “If we can get students on the right pathway sooner, it’s a lot easier to keep them in school and more motivated to get to that end goal of graduation,” he told the board.
Board members asked how Morgan’s requirements compare to state requirements and whether a transition period would be needed. Thomas said the state-required minimum is 24 credits and that any local change would include a transition period; he said the district is in “beginning stages” of data review and looking at other districts’ models.
Members of the board and the public attending the meeting connected the tentative plan to the district’s new CTE center and the recent expansion of concurrent enrollment opportunities with DATC. The superintendent and instructional coaches noted ongoing professional development and training around PowerSchool and Canvas tools intended to help counselors and teachers plan student schedules and pathways.
The discussion did not include a formal board action. Superintendent and principals said they will collect more data, continue reviewing models and return with recommendations before any policy changes are proposed.
Next steps described at the meeting include additional data analysis, outreach to families for feedback and coordination with DATC and state requirements to establish a transition plan should the board choose to revise local graduation requirements.
