kepdawg
06-21-2007, 11:46 PM
Senior misses graduation after school's miscalculation
Frisco: Apologetic district officials say student had enough credits all along
09:31 PM CDT on Thursday, June 21, 2007
By KAREN AYRES / The Dallas Morning News
kayres@dallasnews.com
FRISCO – Emmanuel Diaz was in. Then he was out. Now, he's back in. No one could have predicted the way his high school years ended.
Emmanuel, 18, was about to graduate from Frisco High School in May when his guidance counselor shocked him with the news that he was one credit short. This week, apologetic school officials admitted that clerical errors led to a terrible miscalculation. He had enough credits all along.
Emmanuel and his mother, Sandra Diaz, are devastated that he missed his once-in-a-lifetime chance to walk across the stage at the Memorial Day graduation ceremony.
"It's not like he missed a field trip. This is one of the most memorable events of his life," Ms. Diaz said. "He was deprived of that."
Frisco school district officials apologized to the Diaz family Thursday and offered to host a personal ceremony for Emmanuel. The family is still deciding whether to participate.
The problems started a few weeks before graduation when Emmanuel's guidance counselor told him he had only 24 credits, one shy of the 25 credits required to graduate in Frisco ISD.
Ms. Diaz, who had bought graduation invitations and a cap and gown, went to school to review her son's transcript. He had transferred from Centennial High School to FHS at the start of the school year. He had failed some classes in the past, but Ms. Diaz couldn't believe her son hadn't made the cut for graduation.
"I pleaded. I cried," she said. "We really have a lot of expectations for Emmanuel."
Ms. Diaz swiftly let Emmanuel, the eldest of her six children, know she was disappointed. She took away his cellphone, car and television.
"It was very heartbreaking, especially for my parents," Emmanuel said. "It was a very tough time."
Ms. Diaz even gave notice that she planned to quit her job as a district manager for an apartment management company.
"In the end, I was disappointed in me," said Ms. Diaz, who has since decided to keep her job. "I didn't want this to happen to my other kids."
Emmanuel started summer school to pick up his extra credit nearly two weeks ago. On Tuesday, Frisco High School Principal Rick Burnett called him down to the office and told him that he should have graduated all along.
"I thought it was some kind of joke," Emmanuel said.
It turns out that school officials didn't count a physical education credit that Emmanuel had earned at Centennial High School for his football class during his junior year.
Until this past year, Frisco ISD didn't allow a third year of athletics to count toward graduation, so the class didn't show up on an old transcript form from Emmanuel's years at Centennial.
So, Frisco High School never knew he had earned the credit when they checked his records before the May graduation. The credit only appeared this month after a counselor at Centennial printed out his records on a new student data system.
In an e-mail to Ms. Diaz on Thursday, Superintendent Rick Reedy apologized for the error and stressed that staff members stepped up when they discovered it. He pointed out that many staff members worked with Emmanuel on weekends and after school to help him pass his other classes.
"Words cannot express how sorry I am that your son was not able to graduate with his class on Memorial Day," Dr. Reedy wrote.
In the future, the Frisco school district will have three people review the transcripts of students who are in danger of not graduating.
Ms. Diaz said the district should have worked to improve its record system before using it, but nonetheless she believes it was an honest error.
"I've always thought very highly of this district," she said. "We're not rich. I've tried really hard to afford a home in a great school district."
Emmanuel said part of him wishes he never learned of the error, but the other part of him is proud to know that he earned a diploma. He hopes to go to college in the spring.
Emmanuel's family has planned a party for him Saturday. They're still deciding whether he will don his cap and gown for a small ceremony with district officials.
"I feel like he did it and he didn't get to live it," Ms. Diaz said. "I can never give that experience back to him. I never want anyone else to go through this."
Frisco: Apologetic district officials say student had enough credits all along
09:31 PM CDT on Thursday, June 21, 2007
By KAREN AYRES / The Dallas Morning News
kayres@dallasnews.com
FRISCO – Emmanuel Diaz was in. Then he was out. Now, he's back in. No one could have predicted the way his high school years ended.
Emmanuel, 18, was about to graduate from Frisco High School in May when his guidance counselor shocked him with the news that he was one credit short. This week, apologetic school officials admitted that clerical errors led to a terrible miscalculation. He had enough credits all along.
Emmanuel and his mother, Sandra Diaz, are devastated that he missed his once-in-a-lifetime chance to walk across the stage at the Memorial Day graduation ceremony.
"It's not like he missed a field trip. This is one of the most memorable events of his life," Ms. Diaz said. "He was deprived of that."
Frisco school district officials apologized to the Diaz family Thursday and offered to host a personal ceremony for Emmanuel. The family is still deciding whether to participate.
The problems started a few weeks before graduation when Emmanuel's guidance counselor told him he had only 24 credits, one shy of the 25 credits required to graduate in Frisco ISD.
Ms. Diaz, who had bought graduation invitations and a cap and gown, went to school to review her son's transcript. He had transferred from Centennial High School to FHS at the start of the school year. He had failed some classes in the past, but Ms. Diaz couldn't believe her son hadn't made the cut for graduation.
"I pleaded. I cried," she said. "We really have a lot of expectations for Emmanuel."
Ms. Diaz swiftly let Emmanuel, the eldest of her six children, know she was disappointed. She took away his cellphone, car and television.
"It was very heartbreaking, especially for my parents," Emmanuel said. "It was a very tough time."
Ms. Diaz even gave notice that she planned to quit her job as a district manager for an apartment management company.
"In the end, I was disappointed in me," said Ms. Diaz, who has since decided to keep her job. "I didn't want this to happen to my other kids."
Emmanuel started summer school to pick up his extra credit nearly two weeks ago. On Tuesday, Frisco High School Principal Rick Burnett called him down to the office and told him that he should have graduated all along.
"I thought it was some kind of joke," Emmanuel said.
It turns out that school officials didn't count a physical education credit that Emmanuel had earned at Centennial High School for his football class during his junior year.
Until this past year, Frisco ISD didn't allow a third year of athletics to count toward graduation, so the class didn't show up on an old transcript form from Emmanuel's years at Centennial.
So, Frisco High School never knew he had earned the credit when they checked his records before the May graduation. The credit only appeared this month after a counselor at Centennial printed out his records on a new student data system.
In an e-mail to Ms. Diaz on Thursday, Superintendent Rick Reedy apologized for the error and stressed that staff members stepped up when they discovered it. He pointed out that many staff members worked with Emmanuel on weekends and after school to help him pass his other classes.
"Words cannot express how sorry I am that your son was not able to graduate with his class on Memorial Day," Dr. Reedy wrote.
In the future, the Frisco school district will have three people review the transcripts of students who are in danger of not graduating.
Ms. Diaz said the district should have worked to improve its record system before using it, but nonetheless she believes it was an honest error.
"I've always thought very highly of this district," she said. "We're not rich. I've tried really hard to afford a home in a great school district."
Emmanuel said part of him wishes he never learned of the error, but the other part of him is proud to know that he earned a diploma. He hopes to go to college in the spring.
Emmanuel's family has planned a party for him Saturday. They're still deciding whether he will don his cap and gown for a small ceremony with district officials.
"I feel like he did it and he didn't get to live it," Ms. Diaz said. "I can never give that experience back to him. I never want anyone else to go through this."