Beyond The Bell: Oklahoma Graduation Rates

It's graduation time, but some Oklahoma high school seniors are still waiting to find out if they will get their diploma.

Thursday, May 24th 2012, 11:30 pm

By: News 9


It's graduation time, but some Oklahoma high school seniors are still waiting to find out if they will get their diploma.

It is only days before graduation at U.S. Grant High School. It's an emotional day for senior Sonja Ortiz who just found out she's allowed to walk. Ortiz, 205 of her classmates and hundreds more across Oklahoma City risked not getting out of school because of new ACE requirements set by state law.

There are only 15 students at Grant still at risk of not graduating, but even one is one too many. Principal Tamie Sanders took over at the school, once known as the dropout factory, fearing a huge increase in the number of students who wouldn't graduate.

Sanders and her staff transformed the culture at Grant. The staff even geared curriculum around the needs of certain students, so seniors like Ortiz can focus on the future.

Oklahoma City Public Schools expected the number of seniors not graduating to be a lot higher at the start of the school year. They say because schools, like Grant stepped up their efforts, 78 percent of seniors will graduate on time.

High school seniors who don't meet the ACE requirements by graduation day can enroll in an academic boot camp and get their diploma by June 30.

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