Students who have trouble deciding on what classes to take could find it to difficult to graduate next year if they haven’t completed a four-year sequence of classes to earn what’s called an endorsement with their diploma.

Endorsements consist of a related series of courses that are grouped together by interest or skill sets. At Akins, that mostly consists of Career and Technology classes, but it can also be made up of Fine Arts or another series of advanced electives.

“(If ) students began their first two years in the vet program they decided to focus on their Diamonds (dance participation) then they choose to take multiple classes in dance once they have received four credits in dance they can receive their Arts and Humanities endorsement,” Green Tech Academy counselor Margarita Moreno said.

Next year’s seniors will be the first-graduating class that is required to have taken this four-year sequence to earn a diploma with the Distinguished Level of Achievement plan.

There are five endorsement options, including Arts and Humanities, Business and Industry, Public Service, STEM and Multidisciplinary. These endorsements align with many of the academies at Akins because the campus was ahead of many of schools in adopting a requirement that students earn a “major,” which was the previous requirement at Akins.

Changing academies or majors might not prevent students from graduating with an endorsement as long as they stay within the same endorsement, Moreno said.

For example, if a student changes from a Public Services endorsement classes in Social Services, but then changes to Public Services in ABLLE, they should still be on track to earn endorsement.

Students who transfer into Akins in their junior or senior year are expected to have an endorsement.

“They are still expected to have an endorsement. We as educators will help the students make sure they graduate with an endorsement,” Moreno said.

Many transfer students graduate with an endorsement called Multidisciplinary endorsement, most out-of-state students have taken classes that fall under that endorsement.

Some students like junior Alejandra Arguello are worried that they will have to double block their elective major classes during their senior year because they switched.

“I don’t know if I have to double block newspaper next year since I switch majors this year,” Arguello said.

Many students have this problems and when asking some counselors they have no response some don’t even know how many students are worried about not graduating next year “ I don’t want students to worry about not graduation without an endorsement we will find a way for them to graduate with an endorsement,” Moreno said.