Everyone knows what early graduation is. But do you know what the process of early graduation is, and what it means to be an early grad? It doesn’t mean you get your diploma before anyone or that you are given a free pass to be done with school. What it means to be an early grad is that you are simply ending your high school career to start your life. To get a job, to get ahead in college.
Everyone has their different reasons for wanting to graduate early, all are equally important. Maybe you want to get a head start on college, as a few had explained. Or maybe you need to have more time to help family. There’s even the possibility the explanation that you were held back and now that credits are made up you want to officially be done with high school. All reasons discussed between the eight people chosen for early graduation this year. When asked what the main goal of early graduation was, Senior Alex Ortiz said,” I live with my great grandmother, I want to be able to be around her more to take care of her. Not have to worry about her all the time. Also I would like to make my part time job a full time job, so I could make more money to help with bills. Another thing is I plan on starting college in January, so early graduation has really helped with making all those choices.”

One might even need to leave the state to help a family member, in Senior Yesenia Ruiz-Rodriguez’s case that’s exactly what is happening. “I wanted to apply for early graduation because I needed to go back to Texas to see my parents and help them. I still plan on going to college, but I’m waiting ‘til the fall,” said, Ruiz-Rodriguez.

The process to be accepted for early graduation is not easy either. James Ayres said, “If a student has earned all credits, gives a good reason, and can prove that they are going to do something productive after being accepted for early graduation then we usually accept them for early graduation. But if we believe they won’t be going through with these things to better themselves, then we deny their early graduation application. As I’ve said before, why should we deny opportunities for that student if they have the right criteria for the early graduation process.” Said Ayres. Senior Angelica Jara said, “I was held back in my Sophomore year, so I should’ve graduated last year. Now I have the chance to graduate early. I just want to be done, I have all the credits and I want to finally be done. The process I had to go through I had to make sure I made up all missing credits from my sophomore year. Also I didn’t have any electives in my Junior year since I was making up credits. But then I had to write an essay and give it to the guidance office so they could see if it would be approved or not.”
Ayres said, “ When we get an application we look over it as a staff and then we determine of they should be accepted or not, then we have to send it to the school board. Usually if we agree that it’s a good reason they will too. But after all it really is the board’s decision.