Keep your kids from dropping out
Alternative school offers east-side dropouts a second...
By Megan Stokes | July 23, 2009 | eosun.com
Standing at 6'3" and weighing 250 pounds, Principal Charles Finch is unlikely to tear up in public. But he couldn’t contain his emotions two weeks ago as he watched seven Aloma High School students graduate.
AHS opened in fall 2008 and is geared toward students from University, Timber Creek, Winter Park and Colonial high schools who are at risk for dropping out of school or have already dropped out. The school offers four-hour days where students work at their own pace so they can get additional help from teachers or work faster to earn the credits they need. Stephanie Corchado, 17, earned half a credit a week to graduate on time this year. She said budget cuts and the Orange County Public School system’s district-wide time swap — which made high schools start later and middle schools start earlier — affected her grades.
She dropped from being an A student taking advanced courses to a D student fearing her first F — which made her fall behind in credits. By January she was so afraid she would not be able to earn the 5.5 credits she needed to graduate in the spring that she started looking into AHS.
"It was overwhelming to be bunched in with that many kids at my old school," Corchado said. "I needed more individual attention from my teachers. I did not want to take the chance of having to repeat 12th grade."
"My friends were not happy that I was leaving, and I was really afraid when I went to Aloma High. I made a couple friends there but I was really focused on getting my diploma and finishing. I wanted to move on from all of the high school stuff."
Finch said other AHS students also complained about a lack of attention at their home schools. One student said he spent a majority of his time in the hallways, and the first 20 minutes of each class were wasted by the teacher trying to calm the students.
That’s not the case at AHS. Many AHS faculty said their students are more determined than the average teenager. They work on the courses they need while teachers walk around and offer assistance, but there is no talking and no fooling around.
"I know a lot of teachers tell students that talking and socializing is not allowed, but here they listen because they are the ones who came to us," Finch said. "They are here because they want to be here." Alternative schools are popping up throughout East Orlando and the state. AHS is one of three Community Education Partners’ Dropout Prevention and Recovery Programs in Orlando. There are eight CEP schools in the state and eight more are coming. AHS had 200 students last year with 200 more on a waiting list. Finch expects 500 students by October.
Yahaira Galarza, 18, became overwhelmed when a Colonial High School teacher handed her the senior project — a thick binder filled with in-depth assignments including a five-page autobiography. She dropped out last fall for two months, spending her days working at a restaurant in the Orlando International Airport.
When she decided to return she had fallen too behind in credits. She heard about AHS from a friend and enrolled in January. Now she’s on track to be the first in her family to graduate from high school. She walks across the stage in December.
"That is my dream," Galarza said. "I stay focused now by thinking about graduation." To qualify for AHS, students must be 16 to 21 years old. Most students have about 13 credits and are below a 2.0 grade point average, which is required to graduate.
Some students, such as Elizabeth Downie, 17, take two four-hour daily sessions to graduate on time. The former Winter Park High School senior needed more emotional support at school and was looking for a place that was less focused on deadlines and more stress free. Stuart Morgan-Graham, AHS career coach and family support specialist, said many AHS students need emotional counseling.
"It is amazing the stuff that these kids go through — pregnancies, abortions, domestic abuse. They cannot focus on school work when they are dealing with these things," he said.
Corchado said that although alternative schools are starting to catch on, more students should be aware that traditional high schools are not the only avenue that leads to a diploma.
"If you are having trouble, that is not where it has to end," she said. "There are other alternatives. Mainstream high schools do not work for all kids."
Alternative school offers east-side dropouts a second...
By Megan Stokes | July 23, 2009 | eosun.com
Standing at 6'3" and weighing 250 pounds, Principal Charles Finch is unlikely to tear up in public. But he couldn’t contain his emotions two weeks ago as he watched seven Aloma High School students graduate.
AHS opened in fall 2008 and is geared toward students from University, Timber Creek, Winter Park and Colonial high schools who are at risk for dropping out of school or have already dropped out. The school offers four-hour days where students work at their own pace so they can get additional help from teachers or work faster to earn the credits they need. Stephanie Corchado, 17, earned half a credit a week to graduate on time this year. She said budget cuts and the Orange County Public School system’s district-wide time swap — which made high schools start later and middle schools start earlier — affected her grades.
She dropped from being an A student taking advanced courses to a D student fearing her first F — which made her fall behind in credits. By January she was so afraid she would not be able to earn the 5.5 credits she needed to graduate in the spring that she started looking into AHS.
"It was overwhelming to be bunched in with that many kids at my old school," Corchado said. "I needed more individual attention from my teachers. I did not want to take the chance of having to repeat 12th grade."
"My friends were not happy that I was leaving, and I was really afraid when I went to Aloma High. I made a couple friends there but I was really focused on getting my diploma and finishing. I wanted to move on from all of the high school stuff."
Finch said other AHS students also complained about a lack of attention at their home schools. One student said he spent a majority of his time in the hallways, and the first 20 minutes of each class were wasted by the teacher trying to calm the students.
That’s not the case at AHS. Many AHS faculty said their students are more determined than the average teenager. They work on the courses they need while teachers walk around and offer assistance, but there is no talking and no fooling around.
"I know a lot of teachers tell students that talking and socializing is not allowed, but here they listen because they are the ones who came to us," Finch said. "They are here because they want to be here." Alternative schools are popping up throughout East Orlando and the state. AHS is one of three Community Education Partners’ Dropout Prevention and Recovery Programs in Orlando. There are eight CEP schools in the state and eight more are coming. AHS had 200 students last year with 200 more on a waiting list. Finch expects 500 students by October.
Yahaira Galarza, 18, became overwhelmed when a Colonial High School teacher handed her the senior project — a thick binder filled with in-depth assignments including a five-page autobiography. She dropped out last fall for two months, spending her days working at a restaurant in the Orlando International Airport.
When she decided to return she had fallen too behind in credits. She heard about AHS from a friend and enrolled in January. Now she’s on track to be the first in her family to graduate from high school. She walks across the stage in December.
"That is my dream," Galarza said. "I stay focused now by thinking about graduation." To qualify for AHS, students must be 16 to 21 years old. Most students have about 13 credits and are below a 2.0 grade point average, which is required to graduate.
Some students, such as Elizabeth Downie, 17, take two four-hour daily sessions to graduate on time. The former Winter Park High School senior needed more emotional support at school and was looking for a place that was less focused on deadlines and more stress free. Stuart Morgan-Graham, AHS career coach and family support specialist, said many AHS students need emotional counseling.
"It is amazing the stuff that these kids go through — pregnancies, abortions, domestic abuse. They cannot focus on school work when they are dealing with these things," he said.
Corchado said that although alternative schools are starting to catch on, more students should be aware that traditional high schools are not the only avenue that leads to a diploma.
"If you are having trouble, that is not where it has to end," she said. "There are other alternatives. Mainstream high schools do not work for all kids."
