C. Douglas Carter High School

Carter High School focuses its teaching and student learning on the future.  We do this through aligning our curriculum with the needs of our students and the expectations of our graduates in the community and at home.  The state of North Carolina has given us the chance to work toward these goals continually through age 22.  

We believe that graduation is the culmination of a student's educational experiences and, as such, students must meet the requirements for graduation.  This also aligns with North Carolina's increased  graduation standards for students graduating with a high school diploma.  

Therefore, in order to participate in graduation ceremonies and receive a graduation document at Carter High School, a student must meet one of the following criteria:

The student must have reached the maximum age permitted by North Carolina (currently age 22).

The student must have attained and is maintaining competitive employment in his/her community and successfully completed his/her IEP goals.

The student must be currently participating in an age-appropriate transitional program in his/her community and successfully completed his/her IEP goals.  

This includes, but is not limited to:  Supported Employment opportunities, Sheltered Employment, Adult Day Activity Programs, Compensatory Education and/or other adult transition programs.

A student can participate in graduation ceremonies only when he/she meets one of the established criteria.  The graduation ceremony IS the door to adult opportunities. The graduation ceremony IS NOT a revolving door to returning to high school.  Therefore, students will not be graduating in the spring and returning to high school in the fall.  The establishment of these requirements will thus guide the IEP process through the difficult decision-making of Transition Planning and provide a clear picture of who is eligible to participate in the graduation ceremony in any given school year.  Parents and other IEP Team members may thus opt to align post-high school programs and services with students' needs and family goals if there is a desire to graduate prior to age 22.  A student may participate in the graduation ceremony before age 22 if one of the established criteria is met. 

It is hoped that this information will provide guidance to parents, students and other relevant transition support persons. If you have questions about these graduation requirements, please call 336-703-4119 to speak to your student's teacher, the guidance counselor, the case manager, or the principal.  Thank you for your continued support of Carter High School.