Winona staff recommend raising high‑school graduation requirement from 21.5 to 25 credits; board to consider in fall

A committee of Winona Senior High School teachers and administrators recommended the school board raise the district’s graduation requirement from 21.5 credits to 25 credits, committee members told the Winona Area Public Schools Board during an information item.

The recommendation, framed as the start of a conversation, would not fix those extra credits to particular subject categories; students could earn the additional credits in math, science, art or other electives. A committee presenter said, “we should shift the number from 21 and a half to 25,” and described the change as a way to make elective choices “matter” to students rather than let electives be treated as courses that can be failed without consequence.

Board members and staff said the proposal matters because it could reshape elective offerings, affect students who take Post‑Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO), and highlight differences between Winona Senior…