By Samantha Battle
Struggling students who may not graduate on time at King College Preparatory High School are doing all they can to accept their diploma with the rest of their classmates in June.
Even if these students take night school along with their regular classes, they won’t have enough time to earn all the credits they need to graduate on time. So students asked Principal, Jeffrey Wright, if they could take an extra class on the weekend to get the credits they need.
At the LSC meeting Feb. 19, Wright brought up the idea that was presented to him by the students. Parent and neighborhood representatives, a student representative and teachers all were shaking their heads in agreement and in interest with what the principal was saying.
"Students came to me and told me that they would rather make up the work and go the extra mile to graduate on time with their classmates instead going to an alternative school and getting out the easy way," Wright said.
Going to an alternative school will let these students that are behind graduate on time because they don’t require as many credits as a college preparatory high school.
The students that are behind failed classes their freshman and sophomore year and now they have to make up those credits in order to have all the credits needed to graduate.
Wright will be paying $200 for each student in the program for these classes out of his own pocket. Wright doesn’t have an exact count on how many students will be taking this class just yet but it is estimated to be about 20 students.
"That’s a lot of classes and a lot of work to do," said Bobie Knight, a vocal teacher who teaches vocal at King College Prep.
The students who want to take this class will be getting Illinois virtual high school credits and Wright will be teaching and chaperoning the classes himself on a day that is convenient for him since he is taking time from his schedule.
"I respect that these students are trying so I don’t mind helping them," Wright said.
According to the Chicago Public High Schools Web site, the Illinois Virtual Program meets individual student and school needs as well as providing options in meeting the No Child Left Behind guidelines.
"CPS Virtual High Schools offer more than 100 online courses at more than 70 high schools and middle schools. Students have demonstrated nearly an 80 percent successful completion rate with over 6,500 students enrolled," according to the Chicago Public Schools Web site.
Students from all schools in this virtual program include regular education students, those who had dropped out of school for a while, those recovering credits, and alternative learners from different Chicago Public High Schools.
Those students who want to benefit from this program will have to sign a contract along with their parents, agreeing to be responsible for paying back the money if they miss a single class.
The cost is $200 per student so if a student misses one class, that student will have to pay $20, two classes $40 and so on.
The class will consist of general subjects such as math, science and English. Students will also be able to work on work from other classes also.
Going to school and night school and then adding another weekend class is a lot of work, but students who want to partake in this program understand that and are willing to take on that extra workload.
"I really want to graduate with my friends that I’ve been with since my freshman year and so I don’t mind doing the extra work," said Taylor Johnson, a senior at King College Prep. "I messed up in the beginning so it’s my responsibility to make up for it."
Struggling students who may not graduate on time at King College Preparatory High School are doing all they can to accept their diploma with the rest of their classmates in June.
Even if these students take night school along with their regular classes, they won’t have enough time to earn all the credits they need to graduate on time. So students asked Principal, Jeffrey Wright, if they could take an extra class on the weekend to get the credits they need.
At the LSC meeting Feb. 19, Wright brought up the idea that was presented to him by the students. Parent and neighborhood representatives, a student representative and teachers all were shaking their heads in agreement and in interest with what the principal was saying.
"Students came to me and told me that they would rather make up the work and go the extra mile to graduate on time with their classmates instead going to an alternative school and getting out the easy way," Wright said.
Going to an alternative school will let these students that are behind graduate on time because they don’t require as many credits as a college preparatory high school.
The students that are behind failed classes their freshman and sophomore year and now they have to make up those credits in order to have all the credits needed to graduate.
Wright will be paying $200 for each student in the program for these classes out of his own pocket. Wright doesn’t have an exact count on how many students will be taking this class just yet but it is estimated to be about 20 students.
"That’s a lot of classes and a lot of work to do," said Bobie Knight, a vocal teacher who teaches vocal at King College Prep.
The students who want to take this class will be getting Illinois virtual high school credits and Wright will be teaching and chaperoning the classes himself on a day that is convenient for him since he is taking time from his schedule.
"I respect that these students are trying so I don’t mind helping them," Wright said.
According to the Chicago Public High Schools Web site, the Illinois Virtual Program meets individual student and school needs as well as providing options in meeting the No Child Left Behind guidelines.
"CPS Virtual High Schools offer more than 100 online courses at more than 70 high schools and middle schools. Students have demonstrated nearly an 80 percent successful completion rate with over 6,500 students enrolled," according to the Chicago Public Schools Web site.
Students from all schools in this virtual program include regular education students, those who had dropped out of school for a while, those recovering credits, and alternative learners from different Chicago Public High Schools.
Those students who want to benefit from this program will have to sign a contract along with their parents, agreeing to be responsible for paying back the money if they miss a single class.
The cost is $200 per student so if a student misses one class, that student will have to pay $20, two classes $40 and so on.
The class will consist of general subjects such as math, science and English. Students will also be able to work on work from other classes also.
Going to school and night school and then adding another weekend class is a lot of work, but students who want to partake in this program understand that and are willing to take on that extra workload.
"I really want to graduate with my friends that I’ve been with since my freshman year and so I don’t mind doing the extra work," said Taylor Johnson, a senior at King College Prep. "I messed up in the beginning so it’s my responsibility to make up for it."
Hi Samantha! Good to see that you're writing. Found the link via a Google Alerts I have set up for the school name.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!