Early success: Graduation coaches' focus should be pre-high school

Not that they do not already know this, but those who have worked at Goldsboro and Southern Wayne high schools in the positions of graduation coaches should be involved before a student hits his or her senior year.

That is what they want to do -- help students before they are facing the possibility of not earning a high school diploma.

And now, thanks to some extra funding that has materialized, the county is going to get to see what happens when students receive help earlier -- in some cases, before they are even in high school.

And that is good news, not only for the county's graduation rate, but also for the students who might now get the extra help they need to make their high school experience easier.

County officials have wrestled with what to do with those students who do not seem to have the skills they need to succeed.

There are some who even wonder if perhaps a new curriculum, with more focus on vocational options, might be the key to getting more of these students out of school and into good-paying jobs.

The success coaches will not solve all the problems in the county schools. But, the information they can provide about student motivation, achievement and instructional needs will go a long way in helping local officials form a strategy to get more high school graduates in Wayne County.

And that is a good thing.

Published in Editorials on July 30, 2012 10:55 AM