'I just want to go to college': Clear Creek ISD senior fights to graduate

CLEAR LAKE, Texas (KTRK) -- A high school senior says he will be getting a chance to graduate after he was unexpectedly unenrolled from Clear Falls High School while recovering from open-heart surgery.

"I just want to go to college. That's really it," said 19-year-old Logan Ward.

Ward became dangerously sick while on a Spring Break vacation trip to Arizona with his mother, causing him to miss several days of his senior year at Clear Falls High School.

"He almost died three times, has been through open-heart surgery, has been through so much," said his mother, Tamara Evans. "You know, he's already missed so much of this last part of his senior year and now you're telling him, 'Oh sorry, you're not going to graduate now.'"

Clear Creek ISD doesn't offer online school, but, according to the district, it does offer remote options in extenuating circumstances.

He was still un-enrolled.

"You made exceptions during COVID. like I know the technology is still in place," Evans said. "It took me a couple of days to process it. But then, I was like, 'You know what? No, this isn't right.' That's when I started a Facebook campaign and the change.org campaign."

After thousands of signatures and dozens of phone calls, a district committee reached out to the family on Monday.

After working out a plan with district officials, Ward said he has been given until Thursday at 3 p.m. to complete necessary course work remotely.

If he passes, he can graduate on Saturday.

"I truly believe that no one would have reached out to us without all that we've done," Evans said.

"I just don't want anybody to have to do it like I did," Ward said."Schools should just make accommodations."

Clear Creek ISD released the following statement:

The entire team in the Clear Creek Independent School District is committed to providing the necessary instructional support to help each student graduate on time. We recognize there are unique circumstances which may occur in a student's educational journey that, to no fault of their own, takes them off track for graduation. We do what we can to help them through these challenges.

While we cannot discuss this senior's academic progress, we can share that the school district does not operate an online school. We do offer students, in extenuating circumstances, the option to work remotely and submit schoolwork to continue to earn credit.

The reasons why the student was withdrawn from the Clear Creek Independent School District cannot be disclosed due to the Family Educational Rights to Privacy Act. However, we are working with the family to design a graduation plan so that this student can receive a diploma upon completion of the graduation requirements as required in Texas.

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