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Randolph County board hears proposal for arts proficiency diploma endorsement
Summary
School staff introduced a proposed arts proficiency diploma endorsement requiring four arts courses and 40 hours of documented extracurricular arts activities; board will consider it at the March 4 meeting.
School staff on Wednesday presented the Randolph County School System board of education with a proposed arts proficiency diploma endorsement that would give students a transcript notation and diploma endorsement for demonstrated achievement in the visual and performing arts.
The endorsement, presented by Shannon Creech and Larry Chapel, would require students to complete four arts courses, earn at least a B in each, and document at least 40 hours of extracurricular arts activities outside the classroom. Activities would be divided into performing arts (auditions, rehearsals, volunteering, concerts) and visual arts (competitions, community projects, art shows), and all activities would be recorded on an approved Randolph County form that would travel with the student’s record.
The proposal references State Board of Education policy GRED-007, which requires local boards to approve lists of eligible diploma endorsement activities. "It is to recognize high school students who are really focused on cultural arts and giving them that diploma endorsement," Creech said, describing the endorsement as a way to show students’ work to institutions of higher education. Chapel added the activities list was developed with input from middle and high school arts teachers to ensure appropriateness and meaningfulness.
Board members asked how the hours would be counted across grades and where the tracking form would be stored. Chapel and Creech said students would be able to count qualifying activities back to ninth grade for the first year the endorsement is offered; starting the following year hours would accrue only from the date the program is in effect. Staff said the working plan is to keep the form as a Google document so it can move with the student if they change schools.
Superintendent staff said the endorsement will be returned to the board as a recommendation for approval at the March 4 board meeting; any revisions will be noted at that time. No formal vote was taken during the work session.
If approved, the endorsement would create a new local designation on diplomas and student records; staff said counselors and arts teachers would jointly track student progress toward the endorsement.
Board members and staff emphasized that the item is new and that the March meeting would be the appropriate time for final action. "We will bring this back as an item in the March 4 meeting," a staff member said.
The board did not take a final vote Wednesday; staff will bring a formal recommendation and any revisions to the March 4 meeting for possible approval.
