Faster is better for many, and that is the case for some students on campus who have decided to graduate early and only take three years of high school instead of four.

“We had two seniors complete their coursework in December of this year,” guidance counselor Amanda Breeden said. “They finished a semester early.  I think we have four or so students who are graduating a year early this May.”

For a student to graduate early, they first have to talk to the counselors to see if they can.

“Students set up a meeting with their counselor and we talk about what credits need to be fulfilled in order to graduate,” Breeden said. “We look to see if this is a viable option for the student.”

The school’s policies can make it easier for our students to graduate early.

“26 credits are required for graduation,” Breeden said. “Since Lovejoy offers eight periods a day, students have 32 opportunities to earn those credits. Therefore, it is very doable to graduate early if a student and his/her family wish to do so.  What else is helpful is that many of our students take high school courses at the middle school such as Algebra 1, Spanish 1, and BIM.”

In order to skip ahead a year however, students have to go to great measures in order to attain all of their credits.

“Some students will double up on core classes. Others have to take classes in the summer or the internet. It depends on when the student decides to graduate early and how early they want to graduate (a semester early or a full year early),” Breeden said. “The earlier the student knows the better. That way we can see if we can take all classes here without having to utilize summer school or the internet.”

Although students may have to double up on their course load, they believe it is worth in order to jump into college and leave high school.

“I decided to graduate early because I’m ready to move on to the next step of my life and go to college,” senior Sofia Corley said. “I had to take all junior and senior required classes to graduate so I have seven core classes and a language.”

Not all students have to take all their courses in school however.

“With me, I only had to take two senior classes and I am taking three classes online,” senior Christy Gonzalez said.

Getting out of high school early and leaving sooner outweighs the extra work to those graduating early.

“I decided to graduate early because I hate doing nothing in my classes or doing busy work when I could be doing other things that are meaningful and productive. Plus, I was just really tired of high school,” Gonzalez said. “I also would have been 19 when I would have graduated, which I think is really old, so this way I can get a head start.”