Juniors and seniors approach their graduation date everyday but some students don’t make it without a little extra help outside of school. Students who fail a class, that they need to raise their GPA or want to get a couple classes out of the way in order to graduate in the Spring of 2011 or 2012 can take either one or two sessions of summer school.
Junior Niki Ahrabi is one of the many students taking summer school courses in order to continue taking the electives she enjoys.
“I am planning on taking economics and government, because I need the credits,” Ahrabi said. “I’m planning on taking clinicals, AVID, and choir next year and they take up a lot of room in my schedule during the year. I have no other choice.”
Similar to Ahrabi, junior Kelly Swaggerty gets to enjoy her electives next year, because of her previous and future summer school sessions.
“I already have government out of the way thanks to summer school,” Swaggerty said. “So now I get to enjoy some electives, and by the time summer 2011 is over with, I will have economics conquered. I still have other credits like PE and my fourth year of math that I need to get out the way but because of summer school I’m able to enjoy other things, also.”
Not everyone enrolls in summer school because of their want to be in more enjoyable classes. Some students have to make up a class because they failed a core class or maybe a TAKS test, which is mandatory to move on to the next grade or in the long run, graduate.
“I had to retake TAKS and math during my eighth grade year,” junior Angel Gill said. “I did not want to be behind everyone in my class and I had to pass them to move on. During this time I had to pass them in order to graduate from middle school to high school so it was essential.”
Students do not always want to participate in summer school because they want to enjoy their summer by the pool and doing other things, other than homework and taking tests. Although, that is some student’s mentality, not every student is lucky enough to have any other choice.
“I’m really thankful for summer school, actually,” Swaggerty said. “Just because it got in the way of some of my summer plans, I get to be ahead in my credit which is going to help my GPA tremendously during my senior year.”
Being enrolled in high school for four years is not meant for every student on campus; which is another reason for summer school.
“I wouldn’t do it personally but I know a lot of students really want to get out of high school as soon as possible so they should get ahead and be in summer school,” Ahrabi said. “I would only recommend it because it’s three weeks long and then it is over with, which is what those students want in the first place.”
