Central Kitsap high school students in the class of 2021 will likely be the first to be required to earn 24 credits to graduate – up from the current requirement of 22 credits.

The changes are meant to help students be more “career and college-ready” by the time they leave high school by having them take more science, art and language credits.

Normally the new 24-credit changes would go into effect for the class of 2019, but the Central Kitsap School District School Board unanimously voted to approve a two-year waiver to help students and staff adjust to the changes gradually. Districts are allowed to request one or two-year waivers.

The board focused on two percentages – 60 percent and 30 percent – during the meeting.

Presently, about 60 percent of students in the school district happen to earn 24 credits by the time they graduate. Another 30 percent or so have 22-23 credits by graduation, and the remainder have 0-21 credits.

Superintendent David McVicker said the question wasn’t about the 60 percent of students who obtain 24 credits by graduation.

“They will make it,” McVicker said, “And some of those 40 percent (who have less than 24) have some (minor) reasons for not having 24 credits and they will be able to make it. So we’re probably looking at somewhere around 30 percent of our kids (with less than 24). And we’re looking at all of our alternative programs.”

Board member Eric Greene was initially skeptical of the waiver but later came out in favor of it.

“We (Washington State as a whole, not CKSD specifically) have an issue graduating kids with 22 credits, so what do we do? We make it more rigorous,” Greene said.

“Which is fine for that 60 percent, and it makes it even harder for that 30 percent … I don’t get it. This is driven by people who don’t have trouble getting 24 credits making it hard for people that can’t.”

Greene said students’ success and their path to graduation with 24 credits should begin in the seventh or eighth grade. He also said students needed to get turned-on to science earlier.

Looking at even earlier students in the system, McVicker said that he met with elementary principals to look at kindergarten scores and found the results to be worrisome.

“Its pretty scary what’s walking in the door,” McVicker said. The students are not coming in on the same level at all.

Reading to children when they’re young helps a lot, he said.

“We know that kids who are read to, kids who are engaged at home, are in a whole different place when they get to the beginning (of school).”

Greene said that the district needed to help every child.

CKSD director Franklyn MacKenzie told Greene and the board that school programs could be designed in such a way to enable students to rise to the challenge. Credit requirements had been raised in the past, he said, from 21 to 21.5 credits, for example.

“We’re going to raise the expectation and those kids – with the right support – are going to come up and meet that.”

Earning 24 credits would require planning.

McVicker said it is difficult to expect eighth grade students to begin making decisions about their future career so early.

“It’s kind of like going to college. You’re looking at your major, you’re saying OK I have to have whatever the (college) credit number is. I can kind of go a year (at college) and not really have to decide. I can make a change later on. And I think the same situation will apply. Most ninth graders are going to take a limited number of courses. As long as they pass them they’ll be OK.”

If a ninth-grade student failed a class however, “how are we going to make that up?,” McVicker asked.

Presently the budget doesn’t include resources for more summer school options this year, but that could be changed in the future.

One way to give students more options would be to change from the standard school schedule of six periods for four years for a total of 24 credits. The district would have to negotiate with teachers to make such a change.

According to the district, benefits of a waiver include:

• Ability to better communicate the new requirements to students and families.

• Time to develop appropriate pathways for students.

• Time to explore high school schedule options that could support additional credits.

• Time to create credit options for students.

• It would provide extra support for counselors.

• Time to explore human resource needs.