Rural Texas High School Delays Graduation as Only 5 Seniors Make the Grade

Marlin High School in rural Texas has been forced to postpone its graduation ceremony due to an end-of-year review that revealed only five of the school's 33 seniors had met the requirements to graduate.

The Marlin Independent School District released a letter on Facebook confirming this news and also affirmed its commitment to providing necessary resources and support for students.

The superintendent, Darryl Henson, held a mandatory meeting with the parents of the seniors last week. During it he outlined the guidelines for graduation and made it clear that if their children did not meet the required criteria, they could not graduate.

Fortunately, after students worked hard to make up classroom hours and assignments this week, 17 additional students became eligible for graduation in June.


However, some family members had already flown in from as far away as Mexico for the original graduation ceremony scheduled for Thursday but cancelled due to a lack of prepared seniors.

These family members may now be unable to make a second trip back for the rescheduled ceremony in June. This is particularly devastating since 98.7% of Marlin High School's students come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

In order to show support and send off these graduating seniors properly despite their postponed official graduation, there was an informal celebration at a local church on Thursday attended by many community members who wanted to help recognize their achievements leading up to this point.

It remains unclear exactly why so many senior students failed to meet the requirements for graduation according to Marlin's Independent School District Superintendent; however, attendance or grades may have been factors.

As a result of this incident, Marlin High School will have more time and resources allocated towards ensuring its students are able to attain their diplomas without issue in future school years so no one else has to face similar struggles again moving forward.

Source:CNN