Preaching The Point For Graduation

Shawn Kurrelmeier-Lee is a parent and an educator.  She spent years teaching before coming the Chief Reading Officer for the county's Read20 program, and has a child that made his way thorough the school system.

"I have a son that graduated in 2006 from a public school, and he took 5 years, and part of it was issues in life, you know," she says.  Kurrelmeier-Lee she says in the past few years, her husband has had to deal with a liver cancer diagnosis, and between high school and college, her son has been helping.

Kurrelmeier-Lee acknowledges that some students learn slower than others, or have situations that prevent them from becoming an "A", or even "C" student.  And students, for whatever reason, fall behind.

"I can remember working with kids that were not in the right age, and those kids -- even though they may educationally fit better, maturationally and socially they don't always fit," she says.

Students that are falling behind in classes were in the spotlight today at an all-day event at First Baptist Church in downtown Chattanooga.  Hamilton County administrators, educators, and even lawmakers talked about the need to graduate students, and graduate on time.

One administrator noted, "it's unfornate to that we have to talk about this situation, but it is the reality--we do have 18-year-old 9th graders.  We have some that are older than that."

State Senator Andy Berke was the keynote speaker at the event, known as "Expectation: Graduation".  He says, "the only way we're going to change that is by changing out comunity, our government, our families, and yes, our schools."  Those who spoke at this morning's portion of the event sought the need for better understanding from government institutions, more community involved activities and tutoring, and more parental involvement.  Those, administrators believe, can go a long way towards dropping the dropout rate, and raising test scores for the Hamilton County School system.

Kurrelmeier-Lee says, however, some of the speeches this morning emphasized the need for some changes.  Administrators spoke today about the need for some school to meet their academic yearly progress levels.  One administrator told the audience about an example where a school may not meet their AYP levels simply because there aren't enough students in the graduating class.  An example was given of a school with 200 seniors, and the school needing 210 students to graduate to make their AYP levels.

"One of the things Senator Berke said is what we have a structure that worked years ago and it doesn't fit anymore.  I think that's true about that standard," says Kurrelmeier-Lee.

Kurrelmeier-Lee says there's no reason not to count people like her son as a graduate.  And if more like him were counted, she says, then the graduation levels would be drastically different.  She cites the success and the use of the Adult High School in Hamilton County.

Kurelmeier-Lee tells us a central point that came out of today's conference that rang true for her: the need to emphasize education--and to emphasize early, reinforcing learning, and the value of a high school and college education.  "I'm so thrilled that the message is getting ot that we have to concentrate the entire time," she says.  "Not just when they're in high school, but from the beginning, all the way through."