The Daily Inter Lake

Kalispell high school students will begin the shift to a two-tiered diploma system when Glacier High and Flathead High open next fall.

That is a committee's proposal, and the school board's apparent inclination after a presentation at a board work session Tuesday night.

The final vote is slated for Dec. 12.

Students hoping to earn standard diplomas from Flathead High and Glacier High in 2009 will have to take one more credit than required now. Graduates in the Class of 2010 will need two more credits.

Classes taken for that standard diploma, however, would not be enough to gain entrance to a four-year university under current requirements, unless students use their high school electives on another credit of math and a half-credit of social studies.

But 2010 graduates and beyond will have the option to take an extra two credits, including six advanced-level classes, to earn a "merit diploma."

These are the key points in the 16-member committee's recommendation. Trustees gave the preliminary thumbs-up to that proposal.

Their final vote comes at their 6 p.m. regular meeting Tuesday in the high-school library. No discussion is scheduled at that meeting, as the item is included in the consent agenda.

The committee of parents, students, teachers, school counselors and administrators has been reviewing graduation requirements since October, when Kalispell trustees approved adding one more class period a day.

The new seven-period day starts next fall.

It gives students a chance to take more credits in their high-school careers without having to attend "early bird" classes. It was suggested Tuesday night that those classes be eliminated under the new system.

Currently, Flathead High School District students must take 20 credits to graduate. That's the lowest requirement among Flathead Valley public schools - Columbia Falls, Bigfork and Whitefish high schools all require 22 credits for graduation.

But many Flathead High students take more credits than the minimum required.

In the Class of 2006, for example, 98 students took 26 or more credits instead of the 20 required. Another 217 took 23 credits or more, 30 took 22 credits or more, and 48 took 21 credits or more. There were 126 graduating with 20 credits, and 38 who earned fewer than that.

The new requirements will be phased in during the next three years:

-Those graduating in 2007 and 2008 will stay with the current diploma's 20-credit requirement.

-Phase 2 comes in 2009, when one more credit of electives will be required, moving from 5.5 credits to 6.5 credits of electives. That raises the diploma minimum to 21 credits.

-Phase 3 kicks in for the Class of 2010, when the two-tiered diploma system begins.

The standard diploma requires 22 credits. That additional credit will take the form of one full elective, for 7.5 electives required. In 2011 and beyond, that 22nd credit will be split into a half-credit for a ninth-grade course in 21st Century Literacies, which will teach students how to use technologies and learning strategies to prepare for careers and post-secondary education, and 7.0 elective credits.

The merit diploma requires 24 credits. Six of those must be in Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate classes. Most other requirements are the same as the standard diploma, but these graduates will take an extra half-credit in social sciences, a full credit of math including Algebra II, a full credit of science, and two full credits of an international language (now called foreign language). It's designed to give graduates an advantage in universities. Although Kalispell students are not required to take the IB certificate test for individual classes, they need to check with their intended universities to see whether the test is needed for special consideration at admission.

The International Baccalaureate diploma will continue at Flathead High. Advanced Placement classes will be offered only at Glacier High.

-Also included as part of Phase 3 is another diploma option called the Career Field Distinction. It allows students to tailor their high-school courses to a specific career. The Class of 2011 is the first class to have this opportunity. Committee members said they must do more work before bringing specific requirements to the board.

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com.