As of right now, out of the 441 members of the Freedom High School Class of 2017, 56 will not graduate. This number comes from Korey Jones, the Student Success Coach here at Freedom High School, who announced this startling fact to the entire senior class during the senior assembly on Friday, August 12th. The room filled with laughter and nudging of friends immediately afterward. While it may be a joke for some, for Mr.Jones it’s all business. As the Student Success Coach, it’s Jones’s job to improve GPA, attendance, and the behavior of the kids on his roster.

“If you’re not on my roster, it doesn’t matter,” said Jones.

He has an open door policy so he can aid all the 2,000+ students on campus, not just the roughly 100 assigned to him by the school.

Jones is the creator of “The 56” and when asked about the concept he explained that it was all statistics and the number isn’t exactly set in stone.

“There’s a certain percentage of every class that won’t graduate,” said Jones, “and you could fall off the edge in a year.”

After being asked to elaborate, Jones explained two ways in which students could stay ahead of the game and never be a part of the unlucky number:

-Set up and meet with your guidance counselor
-Maintain open communication with your teachers and pick people who are about what you’re about.

In regards to maintaining open communication with teachers and students, Jones stated that “your network needs to be full of people who understand your vision.”

“It might be super tough, you might find out you’re in real trouble but at least you know,” said the Student Success Coach.

This advice is not just relevant to those graduating in 2017. The number of students set to not graduate each year is roughly 56. Seniors, see your guidance counselor
as soon as possible to ensure you are on track and are able to walk the stage in May.