OAKLAND, Calif., June 11 (UPI) -- A school in Oakland, Calif., has decided to grant Jahi McMath an honorary eighth-grade diploma at her family's request.
McMath's uncle, Omari Sealy, tweeted that EC Reems Academy of Technology and Arts would give an "honorary 8th-grade diploma for Jahi to a family member."
McMath, 13, was an eighth-grader when she underwent complex tonsil surgery last December and complications from the operation left her brain-dead. McMath's family fought successfully to keep her on a ventilator, despite the hospital's assertions that her body would deteriorate.
Sealey said his niece's school originally rejected the idea because "they received too many complaints about displaying anything about Jahi McMath."
"It would be an awful shame not to grant Jahi McMath an honorary 8th Grade Graduation Certificate when Kermit the Frog has an honorary Doctorate from Southampton College in New York," he told the Mercury News.
"Jahi should be graduating from the 8th grade this month but it may not be possible for her to make it to the ceremony, as she is fighting to recover," her family said in a Tuesday Facebook post. "She deserves to receive the graduation certificate as she has completed most of the 8th grade work."
Jahi's classmates will celebrate their graduation on Friday.
