With about 80 percent of his graduating students going on to some sort of post-secondary education, Kewaunee High School guidance counselor Steve Meyer wants to make sure students have what they need to get into the school of their choice. That means students hear the same message reiterated throughout their high school career.

"Whether it's during our Target Success class that they take as freshmen or the individual conferences they have each year, we discuss it and make it well known the differences between what we require for graduation and what colleges require for admission," Meyer said.

That's because the required credits for graduation at Kewaunee High School — and the minimum requirements outlined by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction — don't match up to what most four-year colleges require for admission. While Kewaunee requires 26 total credits for graduation — far more than the state average or the college requirement — the high school only requires two credits each of math and science, which is less than the three credits of each that all colleges in the UW System necessitate.

Such is also the case in the Luxemburg-Casco School District. While graduating seniors are only expected to have two credits of math and science and 22 credits total, Luxemburg-Casco High School guidance counselor Peter Geissler said the average student graduates with three credits of math and science and 24 credits total. That's because counselors emphasize the importance of taking more, especially for those who are college bound, he said.

"Our goal is to make sure they're college ready, whether that's a four-year school or a tech school," Geissler said. "Whether they're completing their four-year (high school) plan or scheduling their classes for the upcoming year, we make sure they're getting the classes they need."

Algoma High School is the only high school in the county that requires students to take three credits of math and science for graduation. Algoma High School Guidance Counselor Kasie Gerlikowski said the district wanted to require more than just those credits laid out by the state.

"It's been a district goal to align more of the graduation requirements to what is expected for college admission," Gerlikowski said. "It also offers students a more rigorous schedule. We're setting the bar higher."

The Algoma School District also requires half-credits each of computer science, job skills or finance, fine arts and parenting, none of which are required by the state.

"It gives kids a more well-rounded education," Gerlikowski said. "We're sending the kids into the world with more resources. Not all of our kids are college bound. They need some real-world, hands-on experiences."

Algoma High School Principal Bill Bush said a four-year high school plan assures students are getting the classes they need to prepare for their future. The plan not only looks at a student's college ambitions but also at their desired fields of study, he said.

"Some colleges have very specific math requirements such as algebra II," Bush said. "Some fields have very specific science requirements such as chemistry for the health-care field. We make sure the students plan for that."

He said while the state drives the minimum requirements for math, science, social studies, English and physical education, the decision to require extra credits in math and science, in addition to credits in computer science, job skills or finance, fine arts and parenting was locally driven.

"The School Board thought those areas were important for our students," Bush said. "Kids are going to graduate from high school, and they're going to be living on their own. At some point, kids are going to be living independently, and they're going to be parents. We need to give them skills to be successful in the real world."