Marlin High School postpones graduation after 85% of class fails to earn diploma in Waco, Texas

Texas high school postpones graduation after 85% of class fails to earn diploma.

A high school in Texas postponed its graduation after the vast majority of the class failed to earn their diplomas.

Just five of the 33 senior students at Marlin High School near Waco, Tex., met the requirements for commencement, with grades or attendance issues dooming most students, KWTX-TV reported.

“It’s emotional” for all of the students affected, one parent said, at a meeting with administrators held on Wednesday evening in the school auditorium. “They get their hopes up: ‘I’m graduating next week! I’m at Six Flags!'” she added, referring to a senior trip the previous Friday.

Other parents spoke about their families’ confusion and disappointment — including at least one instance where relatives were flying in from Mexico to see their grandchild get their diploma. Some said the setback came after their students had made up classes in summer school.

“The support was there” for students from teachers, said Jesse Bustamante, Marlin’s director of human resources who also taught at the high school this year.

The school said it planned to reschedule the graduation for sometime in June so students would have more time to qualify, according to a statement posted to Facebook.

“Our commitment to excellence remains unshaken,” Superintendent Darryl Henson said in the statement.

“We hold firm to our belief that every student in Marlin ISD can and will achieve their potential.”

Henderson also took to Twitter to address the dismal graduation rate. Of 33 seniors in the school’s traditional program, only five met the requirements to get a diploma, Marlin ISD Superintendent Darryl Henson said, citing an initial internal audit of attendance, grades and credits that started last week. (The district’s audit did not include seniors in the school’s alternative education program, he said.)

School officials worked with students over the weekend and this week to help an additional 12 students resolve missing credits and other issues as of Wednesday evening, Henson said. But the district opted to call off the ceremony until more than those 17 students can graduate.

But students at the meeting vehemently disagreed, airing their frustrations over a litany of issues. They called out teachers who, the students said, were frequently absent. They also said administrators delayed telling students about their remaining class-hour credits, only to relay different numbers later.

One student said that when she was told she needed to do “credit recovery” for an online class earlier this year, it took three months — and repeated email requests — for the school to make the class available to her.