Ninety-three percent of alternative school’s 2007 graduates to continue their studies
By Ben Ready
The Daily Times-Call
LONGMONT — Already known for their individuality, students from Olde Columbine High School took part in an unconventional graduation ceremony Friday night.
The 27 alternative high school graduates paraded down the stairs of Altona Middle School two-by-two — each pair to their own song: “Dream On,” “Don’t You Forget About Me,” and “They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” to name a few. The audience also watched a video montage featuring the graduates.
“At Olde Columbine, I got a taste of the real world. You have to have your own voice, and you have to be heard,” outgoing senior Tara Grine said from the podium.
Like most of her fellow graduates, Grine finished her secondary education thanks to the school’s flexible schedules, small classes and intensive teacher-student interaction.
She was raised by a single mom, dropped out of Niwot High School during her freshman year and was derided by many friends for later enrolling in an alternative high school, she said. But Olde Columbine staff saw her through to graduation and supported her — even when she got into legal trouble her senior year, she said through tears.
Another graduate, Heather Olga Lockridge, was born into an impoverished family in Krasnodar, Russia. Before she was adopted by a local family nine years ago, she scavenged food out of trash cans.
Jesus Pascual said he graduated with the help of school staff who wouldn’t let him skip classes after lunch. One teacher worked with him until he got his first A on a math test, proving that F’s and D’s weren’t his life’s fate.
“Ever since I got that A on that test, I started caring about what grades I got,” he said.
Faculty at the graduation pointed out that 75 percent of high school graduates nationwide plan on attending college or trade schools. Meanwhile, 93 percent of “alternative” Olde Columbine’s 2007 graduates will continue their studies.
If they maintain the tenacity that saw them through adversity to a diploma, society will soon have new poets, victim’s advocates, volcanologists, homeless shelter directors, journalists and scientists, the graduates promised.
“I’m looking forward to the world you guys build,” guest speaker State Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, told the graduates.
By Ben Ready
The Daily Times-Call
LONGMONT — Already known for their individuality, students from Olde Columbine High School took part in an unconventional graduation ceremony Friday night.
The 27 alternative high school graduates paraded down the stairs of Altona Middle School two-by-two — each pair to their own song: “Dream On,” “Don’t You Forget About Me,” and “They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” to name a few. The audience also watched a video montage featuring the graduates.
“At Olde Columbine, I got a taste of the real world. You have to have your own voice, and you have to be heard,” outgoing senior Tara Grine said from the podium.
Like most of her fellow graduates, Grine finished her secondary education thanks to the school’s flexible schedules, small classes and intensive teacher-student interaction.
She was raised by a single mom, dropped out of Niwot High School during her freshman year and was derided by many friends for later enrolling in an alternative high school, she said. But Olde Columbine staff saw her through to graduation and supported her — even when she got into legal trouble her senior year, she said through tears.
Another graduate, Heather Olga Lockridge, was born into an impoverished family in Krasnodar, Russia. Before she was adopted by a local family nine years ago, she scavenged food out of trash cans.
Jesus Pascual said he graduated with the help of school staff who wouldn’t let him skip classes after lunch. One teacher worked with him until he got his first A on a math test, proving that F’s and D’s weren’t his life’s fate.
“Ever since I got that A on that test, I started caring about what grades I got,” he said.
Faculty at the graduation pointed out that 75 percent of high school graduates nationwide plan on attending college or trade schools. Meanwhile, 93 percent of “alternative” Olde Columbine’s 2007 graduates will continue their studies.
If they maintain the tenacity that saw them through adversity to a diploma, society will soon have new poets, victim’s advocates, volcanologists, homeless shelter directors, journalists and scientists, the graduates promised.
“I’m looking forward to the world you guys build,” guest speaker State Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, told the graduates.
Powered by ScribeFire.
No comments:
Post a Comment