On Wednesday, January 24, 2024, Apex High will say “farewell” to forty-one seniors who have chosen to graduate a semester early. Mid-year graduates have completed all graduation requirements by the end of the first semester of senior year. 

North Carolina’s graduation requirements are English I through IV; NC Math 1 through 3 and a fourth mathematics course; three science courses, including biology, earth/environmental science, and a physical science (physics or chemistry); four social studies courses, World history, Civic literacy, American history, and Economics and Personal Finance; one Health/Physical Education course, which includes a CPR certification; two elective credits of any combination of Career and Technical Education (CTE), Arts, or World Language; and four additional elective credits. This creates a minimum of twenty-two course credits, but many students graduate early with up to twenty-eight credits. 

Students are able to meet these requirements a semester early through the help of their counselors, the opportunity to take high school courses in middle school, primarily Math 1 and Spanish I, and the ability to “double up” on courses, such as taking biology first semester and earth/environmental science second semester of the same school year, allowing two science requirements to be completed in one year rather than two. Wake County’s unique semester based schedule allows many students to only be missing two graduation requirements at the start of their senior year, English IV and Economics and Personal Finance, which are classes only offered to seniors. Counselors help students prioritize these classes in their first semester of senior year, should they wish to graduate early. In the spring of their junior year, students can indicate to their counselor that they wish to graduate a semester early. Through some paperwork, parent/guardian signatures, and a brief, written explanation of the student’s plans after graduation, counselors are able to approve the student for Mid-Year Graduation. 

This year, Apex has forty-one Mid-Year graduates. The intimate ceremony will be held in the auditorium at 6:30 PM on January 24. The small ceremony allows for some perks; there is no limit to the number of guests graduates can bring, allowing more flexibility for graduates, but the school does ask that graduates be conscious of how many people they bring. Although the ceremony is much smaller than End-Year graduation, it is similar. In past years, a student from the Apex Chorus performs the National Anthem, and this year counselor and graduation coordinator Ms. Squires hopes to have a small group of chorus students perform another song as well. These performances are similar to those seen at End-Year Graduation. Ms. Squires has one final message for Apex’s Mid-Year Class of 2024: “I just want to say how proud I am of all of them! Graduating high school is one of the biggest accomplishments that most of these students have to date. They have worked so hard to get to this moment. I know that whatever they plan on doing once they leave us here at Apex will be met with great success!”