HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — The rate of students receiving high school diplomas instead of a certificate of completion has improved by 75 percent, according to the Hillsborough County school district.

What You Need To Know

  • The school district launched a special committee to help students achieve the diploma goal

  • As of August of last year, Hillsborough County Schools had 2,900 students who had not met the graduation benchmarks. About 1800 had not met their math benchmark. By the end of last year, that 1800 was 0.

  • The team of nine educators offers encouragement, guidance, one-on-one coaching and testing boot camps

A certificate of completion (COC) is given when all course requirements for a diploma are fulfilled, but the student does not have all of the requirements for graduation.

That includes having a minimum grade point average of 2.0 and passing the state test.

The goal of the graduation team and committee is to remove barriers for high school students that get a certificate of completion.   

This limits their options for post-secondary education and makes them ineligible for financial aid.

“The idea of the importance of a diploma is being had,” said HCPS Innovation and Strategic Planning Chief, Marcos Marillo. 

Thirteen months ago, Hillsborough County Public Schools launched a new approach to ensure no child is left behind.

Marillo leads the committee in charge of reducing the number of students getting a certificate of completion instead of a high school diploma.

“We need to make sure they understand the difference between a job and a career,” said Marillo. "Our vision is preparing students for life in the district.”

Marillo says that at the start of the school year, more than 1,000 students had not met their graduation benchmarks. That number is now down to 224 and still declining.

As of August, of last year, Hillsborough Couty Schools had 2,900 students who had not met the graduation benchmarks. About 1,800 had not met their math benchmark. By the end of last year, that 1,800 was 0.

The team of nine educators offers encouragement, guidance, one-on-one coaching and testing boot camps to ensure all students are getting the credits, improving their GPA and passing the state exam.

Hillsborough County NAACP president Yvette Lewis and their membership are proud of the progress made.

“I'm excited to see the school district took this serious,” said Lewis.

Marillo says he’s focused on improving the program itself.

“There are a few things that we are doing this year that we learned from last year. We rely on the committee to give us input. And we will implement that,” said Marillo.