Prior to the 2022-2023 school year, the credit requirement for students to graduate was 250, but the school board has approved a change to the amount of credits required. Instead of 250 credits, the requirement has been lowered to 210. 

The FHS Grading Committee researched the topic of credit changes over the course of two academic years before making the recommendation to the school board. The recommendation was based on information they gathered when they contacted schools with similar demographics. The committee also approached the top ten colleges that Fremont grads attend to gather information about admissions requirements and processes. 

Since the change helps accommodate the student body’s needs, the board approved the credit change. The change is permanent, but may be addressed in the future if there is a need. 

“Every student is different and has unique needs. A plan that best fits one student might not be the right fit for the next,” Ainslee Kroenke, a guidance counselor at FHS, said.

With the total credit requirement being lowered to 210, students still have to complete all the core academic requirements, but the elective requirement was lowered to 35 instead of 75.

“We have many advanced classes, many opportunities for kids to take classes at Metro and to do job shadowing through School to Career. Then they can take some of our upper level classes in all of the areas, including the core areas of English, math, social studies and science, as well as the elective areas,” Myron Sikora, FHS principal, said.

The majority of students choose to complete all the core requirements and additional classes to explore their interests, as well as any free metro or dual-credit classes to prepare for college.

With this lowered requirement in place, a few junior students have made the decision to graduate early with the class of 2023. In order to graduate early, they will have to partake in a meeting with their parents, counselor and an administrator to determine if this is the best option for them.

“I think every student’s situation is an individual situation, so that’s part of why we did what we did because I think different students are in different places. I think every situation needs to be evaluated,” Sikora said. “Kids need to work with their families. They need to work with their counselor or their teachers to kind of help decide what their career pathway is going to be. If it makes sense for them to graduate with a 210 credit diploma because there’s some plan in place, then that’s what they should do, but that may not be appropriate for every single student.”