District waives OGT, gives diplomas

Lorain City Schools, under new guidelines in the Ohio Revised Code, will waive the Ohio Graduation Test requirement and will award diplomas to a select number of classes after the approval of an application.

Seniors who attended any of the three high schools in the district between 1994 and 2017 who meet the credit requirements, can have their transcript reviewed, said Sarah Egan-Reeves, curriculum and assessment coordinator for Lorain Schools.

With applications having opened Aug. 10, the district already has sent out its first batch of diplomas and will take applications through Aug. 28, EganReeves said.

“The response has been pretty strong,” she said. “We were able to start calling people who already fit into that category, and those conversations have been great.”

The new guideline is particularly important, since a lot of districts in the area don’t provide graduation testing anymore since it officially was phased out of Ohio curriculum in 2018, Egan-Reeves said.

“I’m glad that the state allowed us the ability to do this, because it really allows people to get on with their lives,” she said.

Before the novel coronavirus pandemic set in, Egan-Reeves said she was getting calls every week from potential graduates who wanted to take the test.

Some would even travel from a different state to take it and receive their diploma.

Those whose transcripts are approved for a diploma will receive a phone call from the district to notify them, with the option to either have it mailed to them or pick up the document at the Lorain High School main office.

Egan-Reeves said each application is double and triple checked, with the

“The response has been pretty strong. We were able to start calling people who already fit into that category, and those conversations have been great.”

— Sarah Eagan-Reeves, curriculum and assessment coordinator for Lorain City Schools

high school’s guidance and registration offices working to obtain and review transcripts.

Since some transcripts need to be transferred from microfilm, some applications may take longer than others, Egan-Reeves said.

Expecting hundreds of applicants, she said the district doesn’t expect to send out a majority of its diplomas until a few weeks from now.

Those who have enough credits to graduate, can fill out the Google Doc form through a link on the district’s website at www.lorainschools.org.

Questions should be referred to Egan-Reeves at 440-830-4057.