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Home » Newswire Weekly » Newswire – June 15, 2021

Newswire – June 15, 2021

A St Patty’s Day Special Edition…Finding Rainbows...Driving out Snakes and a much needed Irish Blessing. 

SURVIVING...THRIVING and FINISHING “SCHOOL”...A SALUTE TO THOSE WHO MADE IT THIS YEAR

Graduation “mortarboards” are thrown in the air to celebrate the end of the accomplishment.  Given the challenges of the past year, they deserve to be thrown extra high.  Our special graduation Newswire salutes those who made it through, with a  sampling of ceremonies of all kinds of schools across the country. Enjoy – and join us in wishing all graduates at all levels Godspeed and much future success.

HOPE ON THE HORIZON. Those were the words used to describe the outcomes for thousands who finally crossed the stage to graduate in Nashville, Tennessee. The obstacles for all students is, like a new word in the dictionary, now fixed in time.  As the Tennessean reported:
“The class of 2021 went against all odds and proved the ones who didn’t believe in us wrong. but today, we graduate. If there’s anything you take from today, remember this…we’ve all experienced how quickly life can change within days and how our normal life can take so long to return,” said senior class president Zara Vanegas during Antioch High School’s graduation. 

OUR TIME.  If they could have returned, they would have, but California treated all schools the same, requiring all schools to keep their kids virtual until otherwise directed. But the students at Granada Hills Charter High School (CA), one of the oldest in the Golden State, prevailed, with the best in class virtual learning. Founder/leader Brian Bauer communicated often and well, ensuring that every family and student had the information needed and that teachers were engaged directly and live with students more than most, and definitely more than traditional LA public schools whose unions restricted their “live” hours. The two days of graduation held on the John Elway field featured, as per tradition, a bagpiper.

Watch this video by Granada Hills students. “We’ve overcome the trials…it’s our time.” Yes it is.
INDIANA WANTS ME. That’s how the very first graduating class matriculating from the innovative Purdue Polytechnic High School must feel, a special project of Purdue President and former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. Despite Indianapolis schools closing to its students, director Scott Bess reopened the school in August 2020, with a combination of blended and in-person learning. And it worked!  Project-based and personalized with a focus on STEM, 40 of the 100 Indy area students will attend the equally innovative Purdue University.

FAITH. “If health and safety were the building blocks, faith was the cornerstone of the schools’ efforts,” according to the Phoenix-based Catholic Sun regarding the 1,200 Catholic high school students who also overcame the hurdles and obstacles of this year to graduate. Like most Catholic schools around the country, these 7 combined online learning with more in-person learning than most public school counterparts. Faith, and a  combination of creative teachers and self-disciplined students, drove their success.

AROUND THE COUNTRY….ADULT LEARNERS at Comeback Charter School in Merced, CA finished high school despite a lifetime of odds. The independent study charter helps students who didn’t finish high school the first time around and who can’t attend adult school because of their work schedule and the other complications of adult life….IOWA PROUD.  North High School in Davenport graduated 44 students with Associate Degrees from the local community college…. PROMISING PORTLAND. Efforts to reach all students yielded increases in graduation rates, most notably among underserved students. Despite the challenges Covid wrought, educators here made sure all the students were reached. And it worked.  THE CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE showed lots as Belmont Charter High School celebrated its first graduating class.  Belmont’s obviously doing something right, as eighty-three percent of the graduating class has been accepted into post-secondary opportunities including college, the military and trade schools.

Congratulations again to all graduates who have endured so much at the hands of so many – let’s face it. A lot of adults screwed up. Hoping they won’t let us forget it, and will be part of the education revolution we so desperately need.

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Founded in 1993, the Center for Education Reform aims to expand educational opportunities that lead to improved economic outcomes for all Americans — particularly our youth — ensuring that conditions are ripe for innovation, freedom and flexibility throughout U.S. education. We’re always delighted to hear from our readers…suggestions, questions and even the occasional complaint!