November 7, 2022
Knowing what credits are needed for graduation would affect the courses chosen. Not knowing what credits are needed to graduate is a great stress. Worrying you picked the wrong courses to meet the requirements already two or more years in is a disservice to the students.
I am almost halfway through my high school career and have no idea how many credits I need to graduate. I have looked through the Staples High School website and asked my friends, yet no one seems to know how many credits for each course we need to graduate.
This has caused me an immense amount of stress. I have already begun all the courses I selected for my sophomore year, but what if I should have taken an art class to meet that credit? What if I should have doubled up on a science credit?
These are all thoughts running through my head. I only have two more years to complete everything I need to graduate. Not having the credit requirements at easy access for students is a disservice to us.
This information is definitely accessible if you go and talk to your counselor, yet the information should be posted on the websites we use daily for school. Having the information of the credits you need is a necessity.
Staples has failed to make it that easy.
This information should have its own page on the website as well as in Powerschool and Schoology. This is imperative information for a highschool student to have at easy access.
Some students plan their schedules to make sure they get enough credit early in their high school careers. Others cram their graduation credits in junior or senior year.
Imagine it’s senior year, you’re sitting in your car, looking at the credits you’ve collected throughout your time at Staples over the past four years. You know you’re close to graduation and can easily tick off most of the remaining required credits. But wait… what’s a visual art credit?
According to the SHS handbook, every student must garner 26 credits to graduate, and while some requirements, such as English or math, can be achieved by simply following the normal class progression, others require enrolling in specific classes. Some students leave completing these credits for last, which can cause issues when they’re forced to fit them into their upperclassmen years. And while some students find earning the practical and fine arts credits a burden, others see the classes as opportunities to explore new interests.
“I didn’t take art classes in my first two years of Staples. It’s actually hurting me because I have an art credit that I’m going to have to do,” Troy Kudrjavtsev ’25 said. “Now, I’m going to have to take an art class next year and I think that these credits shouldn’t be required.”
Others, like Devon Patel ’23, appreciate the arts requirement but would prefer a different focus.
“As a professional violin player who does a lot of violin stuff outside of school,” Patel said, “I think that we should focus more on the arts in terms of music and less on the physical arts.”
But some, such as Holden Dalzel ’23, think that the current requirements can be beneficial for students.
“I think it’s good to have a mix of classes where you can find out what you want to do,” Dalzel said. “It’s much better than just having a bunch of science or math credits.”
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