Many freshmen enter high school on their first day expecting to have to wait four full years to graduate and go onto their next step of life, whether that be going to college, or joining the work force.

Many freshmen are unaware of the possibility of early graduation.

Early graduation is fairly self-explanatory. As long as a student fulfills specific requirements, he or she can graduate before the usual graduation of his or her senior year.

“For this school year, the process has already taken place,” said junior counselor Erin Cope. “So if you’re considering early graduation for future years, plan to meet with your counselor when scheduling begins to discuss the matter further.”

There are two different paths to early graduation.

If a student wants to get started on the path to early graduation, then he or she should start by asking his or her counselor.

Once the counselor is asked, the student would have to figure out the path to early graduation he or she is attempting.

Both paths, if done successfully, result in the same outcome of early graduation.

The first path requires a student to achieve certain scores on a number of tests. This student would need to score proficient on the EOC for English II, Biology, Algebra II, and U.S. History.

These students won’t know if they will graduate early or not until they receive their EOC scores, on which they only have one opportunity to score proficient.

The same students would also need to meet the benchmarks on the ACT for English, Reading, and Math.

This path allows for the students to graduate, and keep all earned KEES money.

There is another way to graduate early. If a student has an extenuating circumstance, he or she may get approved by the Board of Education for early graduation.

If eligible, the student must earn 25 credits and take all required classes. This can be accomplished through the Cardinal Lab/APEX program.

Students taking this path will not be able to receive any KEES money that would have been rewarded.

Early graduating students will either graduate in May of their junior year or December of their senior year.

Students who change their minds may graduate normally.

Not everyone needs the whole four years of high school and thanks to the programs in place, students don’t need to waste any time waiting to move on into the real world.