Batavia School Board Lowers BHS Graduation Requirements

The graduation requirement will change from 28 credits to 26 credits with the Board’s approval.

BHS Principal Lisa Hichens spoke to the public and the Board on April 12 about the graduation requirement change. Many students will still continue to take more credits than 28 or 26, Hichens said at the meeting. She hopes this will help students take non-credit classes, such as a resource study hall.

“The number of credits doesn’t mean anything,” said Board Member Joseph Purpura. “I think we have an underlying obligation to help those students that aren’t performing at a minimal level. It doesn’t seem to be any correlation between student achievement and the number of graduation requirements.”

This may also give students the opportunity to volunteer more since some of the volunteering classes are non-credit, Hichens said.

The proposal wasn’t without opposition. A total of 15 people wrote in or contacted the school opposed to changing the graduation requirements, Hichens said.