Hall County schools seek new path to graduation

The Hall County School District has announced a new plan that will allow students to follow alternative pathways to acquire a high school diploma.

The proposal, called the Hall County Workforce 2020 Competitiveness Plan, seeks to move curriculum focus away from some present standards, such as "seat time" and chronological age requirements.

Hall County schools currently gauge academic progress by the accumulation of "Carnegie units," a time-based standard used to track student learning.

Hall County School Superintendent Will Schofield calls the new system "competancy-based," preferring a system that doesn't rely as heavily on an arbitrary number of hours being logged inside the classroom.

The new system, if approved, will include industry certification in high-demand occupations, hands-on community service and citizenship development, and the outright elimination of Carnegie unit requirements.

The plan was first presented to the Hall County Legislative Delegation in a meeting on Wednesday.

If the Delegation ultimately agrees to the proposal, school officials will still need the approval of the State Board of Education, the Technical College System, and the Universty System of Georgia before any further actions can be made.