Congratulations to seven Jamestown High School students honored at a recent August graduation ceremony.

Jose Lopez, Grace Ortiz, Julio Reyes-Torres, Karee Rizzo-Walker, David Silliman, Brandon Spangler and Antonio Torres were able to share their accomplishment with Jamestown Public Schools officials, board members and, more importantly, their family and friends thanks to a recent change by Tim Mains, district superintendent, to hold additional graduation ceremonies for students who hadn’t completed their coursework in time for the traditional June ceremonies.

We have previously reported on the economic benefits of having at least a high school diploma. A diploma opens doors to better jobs, to the military and to college. It is important for these seven latest JHS graduates to have a high school diploma for that reason. It is equally important, however, for the district to take the time to publicly recognize their accomplishment. Each of these seven students overcame their own sets of challenging circumstances to earn their diploma. Each is a success story, both for the graduates’ families and for the school district.

Mains recently said completion of the district’s strategic plan was perhaps the biggest accomplishment of his first year with the district. He’s right in stating the plan’s importance and the staggering amount of work and community input that went into the document. The plan has long-term importance to the district. A simple change to hold an August graduation ceremony, however, might surpass the strategic plan in the way it impacts students who need the encouragement.

It would certainly seem to be the case for seven Jamestown students and their families.