CHARTER SCHOOL OFFERS STUDENTS A SECOND CHANCE
by Dave Groves—The Daily Oakland Press
October 7, 2004 - Charlotte Bonner, a 20-year-old Pontiac resident, dropped out of high school after the 11th grade.
"I've been wanting to go back to school for a long time, but things didn't work out," she said.
That all changed last month when the Akron, Ohio-based White Hat Management company opened the Life Skills Center in downtown Pontiac.
Along with 151 other area students ranging in age from 16 to 20, Bonner enrolled in the alternative charter high school with plans to earn a state-accredited high school diploma.
"I haven't been excited about school in a long time, but they seem to be teaching me a lot and they keep things interesting," she said.
Like other publicly funded charter schools in Michigan, the Life Skills Center caters to students who haven't fared well in traditional school settings. They've earned poor grades, had serious discipline problems or faced challenging life situations such as teen pregnancy.
Students enrolled in White Hat's dozens of schools across the country are found to be two to six grade levels behind their peers. Some are illiterate.
To meet the needs of such students, White Hat has refurbished an Auburn Road building dwarfed by typical high school facilities.
With no gymnasium, no cafeteria, no art or music rooms and no athletic fields, the school offers anything but a traditional setting.
Principal Jeff Herman said students gather in classrooms in groups of 25-40 and work individually at computer stations. For three hours each day, they study mathematics, science, social studies and language arts. The curriculum is designed to meet Michigan's high school learning benchmarks.
Students also learn about vocational and professional job opportunities, as well as the life skills they'll need to take advantage of them.
In each classroom, three certified teachers and two paraprofessionals oversee each student's course work and engage in one-on-one instruction when students encounter difficulties.
English teacher Dawn Taylor said in the opening weeks the year-round school has been in session, she's seen students adapt to the computer-delivered curriculum and begin making progress.
"It makes it a challenge for them, and I know they enjoy that," she said. "What they've seen is that they can't go anywhere if they don't get their diploma. A lot of them are very motivated by that."
Herman acknowledges that the Life Skills Center faces considerable educational challenges. Charter schools are subject to the same rigorous mandates for student achievement gains that traditional public schools face under the federal legislation known as No Child Left Behind.
But the recently appointed principal argues that maintaining a safe, no-nonsense educational environment where self-motivated students have access to individualized instruction will help them progress toward the achievement levels of traditional high school peers.
"I think we're going to do it," Herman said. "We have to - it's federal law."
Herman said that, as news of the center spreads, enrollment will likely reach capacity in the same way it has at a sister school in Detroit.
"I tell the kids it is a privilege to be here. Pretty soon there will be a waiting list," he said.
Thankful for such a privilege, Bonner said she plans to pursue a career in computer technology after graduation. "I'm proud." she said. "A diploma is your ticket in life. With it, you can go anywhere."
Originally Published at
The Daily Oakland Press
Copyright 2004.
The Daily
Oakland Press