MARLIN, Texas (KWKT) — A high school in the small Texas city of Marlin postponed graduation after discovering that a majority of seniors didn’t meet minimum grade and attendance requirements.
Now, however, parents are speaking out with some saying they weren’t adequately notified that their students weren’t on track.
“This is a catastrophic failure of leadership and accountability,” said one parent of a high school senior at Marlin ISD said at a recent school meeting.
Marlin administrators said the ceremony was postponed after an audit found only five students in the senior class met basic guidelines, according to NPR.
However, it was a message some parents wished they knew sooner.
“How many of ya’ll got a letter on April 17th saying that your babies were on track and then come Thursday… told our babies can’t graduate,” one parent said.
Over the last three days, school officials have been conducting audits – something School Superintendent Dr. Darryl Henson says is being done to abide by state guidelines.
“No pressure that you can put on us through social media or the actual media is going to have us bypass the guidelines of the state,” Henson said.
He added that the students have been given many opportunities to make up work.
“Throughout the year, as you heard, opportunities have been given. Students had been notified,” he said.
Some parents said otherwise.
“I did not receive an email from the school. I didn’t receive a phone call and I did not receive a letter, a formal letter,” said another parent.
Since the announcement, students have been doing makeup work – now, 17 out of 38 are eligible to walk. One thing the community and the school staff were able to agree on, is that there needs to be a stronger relationship between them.
“At the end of the day, it’s supposed to be a partnership,” one parent said. “There’s a school-community compact.”
