The students at my school continue to humble and inspire me...the stories that start to unfold are remarkable and I know there are so many other students in Denver and in other urban cities who have similar experiences. There is a full academic scholarship to any school in Colorado that requires an ACT score of a 27 or higher. Considering the district average is 17, having 10 students in our senior class with a 27 or higher is pretty rare. As I looked more into each student to nominate them for this scholarship, I was stunned beyond belief to find out that more than half of these students have below a 2.5 GPA. When I asked the counselors and AP's about these students each of them had such extraordinary stories.
One of the students has had serious family struggles and has been homeless the majority of his life and the other lost both of his parents as a 10th grader. Clearly they are very gifted and extremely talented considering the average of their ACT scores was a 31.
We pride ourselves in this country as the place where you can live the American dream but public education is slipping and our students are suffering with budget cuts and lack of district funding. The question I have to ask is how we let these students slip through the cracks? Maybe it is because of the amount of district reporting and the lack of support for counselors to have enough time to have their normal student contact hours. Our focus and energy needs to shift to create a learning environment that challenges and empowers students to become greater thinkers not just their ability to take standardized tests.
By empowering these young adults with the tools necessary to achieve their post-secondary goals and the guidance and support of one of my AP's, we have devised a plan and hopefully inspired them to reach a higher level of education. We will see what they decide in the coming months...
Be thankful for what you have and don't be quick to judge those less fortunate then you.
A quick reminder of why I truly love coming to work and why I do what I do. If you have a chance to get involved in your local community, I encourage you to give back in any possible way you can.
Seeing these faces as I walk through the halls, sporting their school colors, makes it real. They just need the support, even if it is from a complete stranger. I guaruntee you will be inspired too.
God bless.
No comments:
Post a Comment