Good decision: Sometimes it is not just about the test scores; it's about their futures.

It is not necessarily the news every person would count as just plain good news about Wayne County Schools.

For some people, it will always be about the test scores -- and no other measure matters. Traditional classrooms and traditional grades -- that's what they want to see.

But this week, the Wayne County Board of Education -- through the efforts of its school administration -- took a very positive step forward for those students who might be at risk of making the decision to leave school before graduation.

The academies that will debut this fall give students with non-traditional interests the chance to learn a skill that they can use after graduation to find gainful employment.

And while they might not realize it, these students, some of whom might not think they are interested in school, will learn the skills they need to succeed in life -- reading, math and science, along with determination and responsibility.

The ultimate goal for any education system is to address the needs of its students, to give them the tools they need to make it. Keeping students in school is one of the most important parts of that duty.

Academies are not necessarily going to improve test scores -- although they might. They are another choice for students whose talents might lie in other areas.

And in the end, the addition of those choices just might accomplish another, more important, goal, sending more students across the stage on graduation day and into the world -- prepared to succeed and believing they can.

Published in Editorials on June 8, 2010 10:26 AM