DATE: Friday, September 19, 1997            TAG: 9709190074

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: LAURA NEFF, HIGH SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT 

                                            LENGTH:   82 lines

WITH RIGHT MIX OF CLASSES, YOU CAN GRADUATE EARLY

INSTEAD OF GRADUATING from Lake Taylor High School in June of 1998 as planned, 17-year-old Ebony Reid decided to skip her junior year and graduate early.

For Ebony, becoming a class of 1997 graduate meant taking two year-long English classes simultaneously. It also required ambition, planning and discipline - a lot of it.

``I always did my homework as soon as I got out of school,'' Ebony said. ``If you wait until the last minute, you're going to be scrambling. You're going to be tired.''

Ebony got a head start on graduation by taking a summer class in finance after her sophomore year. She realized shortly after that if she doubled up on English classes, she could graduate early.

``I wanted to try something new,'' said Ebony, now a freshman at Norfolk State University. ``After 12 years of school, I was ready to move on.''

Although Ebony's case seems special, it's not. Several Hampton Roads students can graduate early, but only a fraction opt to do so in a given year, said Pamela Kloeppel, senior coordinator of guidance for Norfolk Public Schools. Instead some students who could leave early take advanced placement or dual enrollment courses to receive college credit while still in high school.

Kloeppel said accreditation standards set by the state encourage students to pursue college-level course work while still in high school. But because students can move through the high school curriculum at a faster pace, they also can choose to graduate early.

How?

It looks like simple math, but coupled with the credits, students need discipline and dedication.

High school students can take seven classes a year. If they pass their classes, they earn seven credits a year. By the end of sophomore year, a student can complete 14 credits. Only 21 credits are required by the state for students to graduate with a general diploma. Some school districts, like Norfolk, require more. It takes 23 credits to receive an Advanced Studies Diploma. At the rate of seven credits a year, it would take only three years to complete a general diploma. That could change with the new standards of learning and the phasing out of the general diploma by the year 2000. Presently, though, the option remains.

Diane Feineis, guidance chair at Maury High School, said students who graduate early often feel a need to leave.

``Some students are over age and need to graduate early so that, at the age of 20, they won't still be in high school,'' Feineis said. ``Other students have family problems and need to be able to work full-time but don't want to drop out. Others are either moving away and would like to finish up high school as soon as possible or have just moved to the area and are not at all happy here. . . . ''

Generally, high school guidance counselors discourage early graduation. They encourage students to explore advanced placement classes, vocational classes or other electives while they're still free.

``Taking a vocational skill in high school could help you find a higher paying job while you attend college, or help you decide on a career choice,'' said Lynn Hollandsworth, guidance chair at Lake Taylor High School.

Hollandsworth added that although students may have the necessary credits, many 17-year-olds aren't mature enough to take on the real world. She compares students who graduate early to premature babies.

``When babies are born premature, they have not had all of the time necessary to completely develop,'' she said. ``High school students who leave early have not had all of the time necessary to develop the social skills they'll need to survive.''

Alice Jones, associate director of admissions at Old Dominion University, agrees that ``in most cases, at the age of 17, students are not mentally ready to leave home and go to college.'' But age makes no difference in the admissions process at ODU. The university looks for a transcript with at least 16 academic units - core classes like math, science, social studies or English - at least a 3.0 overall GPA, and an SAT score of about 1000. ``Of course, there are exceptions to every rule,'' Jones added.

Ebony may be one of those exceptions. She graduated with an advanced studies diploma and honors this spring. She currently is taking 16 credits at Norfolk State and loving the college environment.

``It's the best decision I ever made,'' Ebony said. MEMO: Laura Neff is a senior at Lake Taylor High School in Norfolk. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

BILL TIERNAN/The Virginian-Pilot

Ebony Reid...

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