Utah considers cutting 12th grade to save money

• 2quik4u

  

  SMH
  

  Reporting from Denver - At Utah's West Jordan High School, the halls have swirled lately with debate over the merits of 12th grade:
  
  Is it a waste of time? Are students ready for the real world at 17?
  
  For student body president J.D. Williams, 18, the answer to both questions is a resounding no. "I need this year," he said, adding that most of his classmates felt the same way.
  
  The sudden buzz over the relative value of senior year stems from a recent proposal by state Sen. Chris Buttars that Utah make a dent in its budget gap by eliminating the 12th grade.
  
  The notion quickly gained some traction among supporters who agreed with the Republican's assessment that many seniors frittered away their final year of high school, but faced vehement opposition from other quarters, including in his hometown of West Jordan.
  
  "My parents are against it," Williams said. "All the teachers at the school are against it. I'm against it."
  
  Buttars has since toned down the idea, suggesting instead that senior year become optional for students who complete their required credits early. He estimated the move could save up to $60 million, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
  
  The proposal comes as the state faces a $700-million shortfall and reflects the creativity -- or desperation -- of lawmakers.
  
  "You're looking at these budget gaps where lawmakers have to use everything and anything to try to resolve them," said Todd Haggerty, a policy associate with the National Conference of State Legislatures. "It's left lawmakers with very unpopular decisions."
  
  In Utah, the opt-out proposal could prove more politically feasible.
  
  "The bottom line is saving taxpayer dollars while improving options for students," said state Sen. Howard A. Stephenson, a Republican and co-chairman of the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee. "The more options we give to students to accelerate, the more beneficial it is to students and taxpayers."
  
  But some education officials say they don't think the plan represents a change.
  
  "We've always had an option in place for early graduation," said Debra Roberts, chairwoman of the Utah Board of Education, adding that it was OK to give students the choice to graduate early, but that they shouldn't be pushed to leave.
  
  About 200 students a year take advantage of early graduation, said Brenda Hales, state associate superintendent.
  
  Buttars, who did not respond to calls for comment, has said he would offer incentives to encourage students to graduate early.
  
  Last week, his proposal met with approval from some who praised his efforts to cut costs, if not the plan itself.
  
  "In a really hard economic time, we have to think of new options," said Aleta Taylor, a South Jordan mother of seven, adding that she needed more specifics before supporting the plan.
  
  Whether the plan proves viable, it does raise a valid point about "senioritis," said William Sederburg, the state commissioner of higher education. "The thing that Sen. Buttars tapped into is that too many seniors take the senior year off," he said.
  
  As far as high school senior Williams is concerned, 12th grade is as rewarding as a student wants to make it.
  
  "Senior year hasn't been a waste for me," said Williams, who writes for his school paper, plays lacrosse, sings in two choirs and takes college-level courses. "If you're the type of kid who will slack off, you'd find a way to do that in sophomore or junior year anyway."
  

  
  http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-utah-school15-2010feb15,0,906102.story
• j_crazy

  

  i think utah also has 4 day work weeks for state employees to save money.
  
  LINK
• gorocks99

  

  [Insert polygamy joke here]
• sherm03

  

  While I feel that getting rid of 12th grade entirely is a bad idea, I don't see that big of a problem with it being optional.
  
  Football players graduate and enroll in college a semester early quite often. So I feel like if the student has completed all of his or her credits, the parents are behind the decision, and the college the student is attending allows them to enroll a year earlier...I see no problem with students foregoing their senior year and entering college.
• friendfromlowry

  "For student body president J.D. Williams, 18, the answer to both questions is a resounding no. "I need this year," he said, adding that most of his classmates felt the same way."
  
  Good one. Senior year has to be the biggest joke of a year. Some students will challenge themselves by taking calculus or some other college-prep course, but a majority I bet try and be as lazy as possible, blaming it on senioritis. I wish I could make fun of them, but that was me at one point also.
  
  They should really do more encouragement for the PSEO program. Free tuition and books. I think it's a program not many students appreciate until they get into college and wish they had taken advantage of it.
• GoChiefs

  

  Isn't the youth of today 'dumb' enough? Now they want to get rid of a full year of school?
• j_crazy

  

  I was only 2 Credits short of being able to graduate after my JR year. If I would have been able to do so, I'd have pushed hard to skip my SR year.
• sherm03

  

  I had a buddy graduate college after three years because he had reached the number of credits needed.
  
  I see no difference here. If a kid has all of his credits good to go after his junior year, why waste time and money taking "blow off" classes when the student could be working towards his or her degree.
• Scarlet_Buckeye

  

  Not only is this plan a bad idea, it's a horrible idea.
• DeyDurkie5

  

  GoChiefs wrote: Isn't the youth of today 'dumb' enough? Now they want to get rid of a full year of school?

  not any dumber than you guys were back in the 50's and 60's
• GoChiefs

  

  DeyDurkie5 wrote: not any dumber than you guys were back in the 50's and 60's

  In 1950..I was -31 years old. :huh:
• darbypitcher22

  

  I see too many things going very, very wrong if this is implimented...
• bigkahuna

  My HS had it as an option. I know of 1-2 people that actually did it.
  
  I agree with most others on here, make it optional. That way kids can push themselves if they want to.
• Little Danny

  

  I had a buddy who graduated early so he could join the Marine Corps. He was so gung-ho military he was convinced it was the right thing for him. After about six months he realized it was the biggest mistake of his life. He missed out on things he will never get back, Sr. Prom, graduating with his friends and just the extra time to spend with his parents and brothers and sisters.
  
  Life moves by so quickly as it is, no need to accelerate it any sooner.
• slide22

  Wish there was an option when I was in H.S. Missed 22 days my senior year and still had a 4.0. Joke..
• 2quik4u

  

  slide22 wrote: Wish there was an option when I was in H.S. Missed 22 days my senior year and still had a 4.0. Joke..

  cool story brah
• David St. Hubbins

  

  Then wouldn't kids just screw around their entire junior year?
• Stiffman

  

  My youngest daughter graduated a year early last August. I think it was good for her. She took the fall off and started college last month. Now I've got 3 daughters in college!
  
  Do you think justin would be ok if the donate bottom at the bottom could be switched to the Stiffman's Little Girls College Fund instead of Freehuddle?
• justincredible

  

  Stiffman wrote: My youngest daughter graduated a year early last August. I think it was good for her. She took the fall off and started college last month. Now I've got 3 daughters in college!
  
  Do you think justin would be ok if the donate bottom at the bottom could be switched to the Stiffman's Little Girls College Fund instead of Freehuddle?

  Sure thing. I'd be happy to allow you to collect the zeros of dollars I am currently bringing in with it.
• Stiffman

  

  Uoh - ok. Is there a marketing major in house??
• slide22

  2quik4u wrote:

  slide22 wrote: Wish there was an option when I was in H.S. Missed 22 days my senior year and still had a 4.0. Joke..

  cool story brah

  My point was if I could miss that many days and keep a 4.0, than there really wasn't much left for me to accomplish there. I had a 3.3ish for most of high school and just took joke classes my senior year because I already had enough credits to graduate half the way through senior year. I guess that last year let me mature some, but maybe making it optional would be a good thing. (assuming you have enough credits to graduate)
• sjmvsfscs08

  In my opinion 8th and 12th grades are rather pointless. I went to four schools in a span of four years from grades 7-10, and the school I went to in 8th grade had the same curriculum as the 9th grade school and the same thing happened with 10th grade; then my senior year I didn't want to take AP English so I took regular English and it was the same too! I had the exact same English course four times in five years.
  
  Post secondary was an option, but I was good at sports and had never spent a day in a public school, so it wouldn't have worked out. Utah would probably have to deal with that issue. My high school, Cardinal Stritch, doesn't allow people to graduate early. The exception being to NHL's Brian Smolinski, but he has a very good reason.
• krambman

  

  GoChiefs wrote: Isn't the youth of today 'dumb' enough? Now they want to get rid of a full year of school?

  Since you said "Isn't the youth" instead of "aren't the youth" I think the answer to your question is a clear yes.
  
  My parent's live in Idaho where my mother is a second grade teacher. I don't know about Utah, but given their demographic similarities, I have a feeling that their view on education is similar to the view in Idaho.
  
  In Idaho, there isn't a very high value put on education. My mom barely makes more than a first year teacher would here in Ohio. You only need a high school diploma to be a sub in Idaho and it only pays $50 a day. The main reasons why education isn't seen to be very important is because all of the Mormon students attend seminar, or religious education, every morning before school, and that is seen by those families as being far more important than traditional education. In fact, they actually get school credit for it (non-LDS students can get credit for similar religious education). Also, since Idaho is a highly agricultural state, you don't need a high school diploma to be a farmer.
  
  I'm not terribly surprised that a state that doesn't put a high value on education would consider eliminating the 12th grade.
• GoChiefs

  

  krambman wrote: Since you said "Isn't the youth" instead of "aren't the youth" I think the answer to your question is a clear yes.

  I got to quit worryin' about that once I gradiated the 11th grade.
• majorspark

  

  In my part of the state of Ohio, many kids get to forgo all four years of high school.