Murphy: Advanced Regents Diploma, Part II

Dear Island Trees School Community, 

Last week I discussed the benefits of an Advanced Regents Diploma for high school students. This is the diploma all students should aim for in our school district. 

The requirements for an Advanced Regents Diploma are a little more challenging than the regular Regents Diploma – one extra Regents level science course, two additional Regents level math classes, and a foreign language component. 

It’s not that much more than the typical Regents diploma, but state colleges in New York review high school transcripts for this particular program sequence. Students who take this type of schedule are telling colleges that they took an academically oriented schedule in high school. 

Conversely, those who decide to avoid a challenging program might be on the outside looking in.  If you were the school admissions officer at a SUNY college, what would you expect of a prospective student?  Exactly.  The bottom line is student schedules matter. 

In most cases where a student fails to attain an Advanced Regents Diploma, they avoid the third Regents level math class, Algebra 2/Trig.  If your child tells you that he/she doesn’t want to take the third math Regents, you now know the benefits of the Advanced Regents Diploma.

In truth, colleges want to see students take four years of English, Math, Science and Social Studies – an academically oriented program. If you have questions, please contact Mr. Grande or your child’s high school guidance counselor.  

Charles Murphy, Superintendent of Schools