Graduation Requirements

A total of twenty-four (24) units (2 may be local credits) earned in grades nine through twelve and a cumulative 2.00 GPA shall be required for high school graduation.

A common core of subjects is required for graduation:

1. 4 units of English
2. 4 units of Math which may not be less than Algebra I (or its equivalent) and Geometry (or its equivalent)
3. 3 units of Science which must include Physical Science, Biology and Chemistry (or Environmental Science).
4. ½ unit each of Oral Communication, Health, and Fine Arts
5. 3 units of Social Studies which must include Civics, U.S. History and World History
6. 1 unit each of P.E. and Computer Business Applications
7. 6 1/2 units of electives

Additionally unless exempted by a student’s IEP, all students must successfully pass all end-of-course (EOC) assessments they are required to take or meet the remediation required for the EOC assessment to receive academic credit for the applicable course and be eligible to graduate.

DeWitt High School recognizes that in rare cases early graduation from high school is advantageous to the student. Therefore, the following policy is adopted in order to identify the student who may be an acceptable candidate for early graduation.

A student may make application for graduation after three years of attendance and a minimum of twenty-two (22) units of credit. This application should be made to the principal of the high school. A student requesting early graduation should understand that he would forfeit the privilege of participating in all school sponsored senior activities with the exception of graduation exercises.

The applicant and both his/her parents will then be interviewed by a panel composed of faculty members and community leaders. This panel will be appointed by the principal of the high school. The panel will discuss options that the applicant may have in order to meet all requirements for a high school diploma. All requirements such as completion date of correspondence courses, etc. will be pointed out. After being interviewed by this panel, if early graduation is still desired, the student must petition the Superintendent of Schools and the Board of Education for approval. This should be in the form of a written statement outlining the reasons for the request. If approval is given, an “early out” letter will be given to the student and a copy placed in his folder.

Any student, who has finished all class requirements and violates school policy concerning the use of drugs and alcohol, or any other policy violation of a serious nature, will be denied the privilege of participating in commencement exercise.

Honor Graduate Policy

Act 980 of 1991 states that to be an Honor Graduate, a student must have successfully completed the College Prep or Tech Prep tract. In order to be an Honor Graduate at DeWitt High School, a student must meet the following criteria:

1. Meet high school graduation requirements.
2. Have 25 or more credits. Two may be local credit
3. Have a 3.75 GPA for seven semesters. GPA will be carried to four decimal places. Students with the same rounded GPA will share the same class rank.
4. Any student that raises their GPA to a 3.75 or higher during the eighth semester will be recognized as an Honor Graduate at graduation.
5. The top Honor Graduates will be asked to deliver speeches and/or participate in other parts of the commencement.
6. Program organization is left to the discretion of the administration.
7. To be eligible for an academic honor a student must complete the entire school year at DeWitt High School.
8. Final class rank, which will be entered on the permanent records, will be determined at the end of the eighth semester.
9. To be an honor graduate the following courses must be completed to be considered.

All required courses must be taken at DHS offered by DHS to be an honor student.

All required courses must be taken at DHS offered by DHS to be an honor student.