VALDOSTA — A new high school schedule means a change in graduation requirements. 

Valdosta Board of Education is tasked with reviewing and approving a revised graduation requirement list as the 2019-20 school year approaches, and the Valdosta High School schedule switches from seven classes a day to four.

“Our high school will be moving to block schedule, therefore we have to have a new graduation requirements policy,” Superintendent Todd Cason said during the school board meeting Tuesday evening.

The only real change to the policy, which was revised from the 2008-09 school year policy before VHS temporarily switched to seven periods, is how many credits are required for each graduating class.

For seniors graduating in 2020, their last year is complete when they receive a minimum of 25 units. The class of 2021 must earn a minimum of 26 units, and the class of 2022 moves up to a minimum of 27 units.

By the class of 2023, when students will need to earn 28 credits or more to graduate, that will become the precedent of credit hours for all students graduating from Valdosta High School.

Broken down, students should earn four credits for language arts, mathematics and science and three to four credits for social studies.

Three credits will be earned by taking either a Career, Technical and Agricultural Education, language or fine arts class and students will receive one credit for health and physical education.

The rest of the credits come from electives, which students can earn between four and nine credits. The fourth science class could count toward the elective count, according to the policy.

Board members discussed the policy and Cason asked board members to look over the revised policy so it could come up for a vote and planning around block scheduling could move forward.

It was only a few months ago when Valdosta High School Principal Janice Richardson approached the board with a request to change the high school’s schedule from seven periods to four classes.

Richardson said four classes, which are about 90 minutes instead of the seven periods’ 55 minutes, would give more students instruction time.

Cut-down instruction time, however, has become an issue with the increase in students taking some classes off campus at local colleges and the large size of the new VHS campus.

“The number of classes is a lot with the transition time,” Richardson said. “Right now, students may have 40 minutes in class. It would increase the time on task in the classroom if we were on block.”

Most high schools in the area, including Lowndes High School, are on block scheduling. 

Katelyn Umholtz is a reporter with the Valdosta Daily Times. She can be contacted at (229)244-3400 ext. 1256.