A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A FEW STUDENTS
There are as many types of school experiences as there are students in this program. Here are a few examples.
John gets up early and attends a learning center class for Science and Algebra 2 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. When he comes home from the classes, he does his homework for those classes. On Wednesdays, he goes to the site and works in the study room because it is quiet there and he can ask questions when he doesn’t know how to do something. He meets with the aide who helps him self check his work for the week and helps him determine the percentage of work turned in for the week. He completes his attendance with the aide and lists an educational activity for each school day of the week. He then meets with his teacher who goes over the work with him and they discuss any problems that John has had on these assignments. John and his teacher check out Jupiter grades and John can see exactly how he is doing and what his GPA is for the week. Then John and his teacher create a list of the assignments he needs to do for the following week. John likes writing down his own assignments because that is preparing him for college and keeping his assignments organized. It also gives him a chance to discuss with the teacher some ideas for getting the assignments completed and the teacher answers any questions that John might have about the subjects. John then works on some of the new assignments until it is time to go home. On Mondays and Fridays he works at home, getting all his assignments done and checked off his assignment sheet. He finds that as he keeps up with his work, he has more time to do the things he wants to do.
Mary goes to the KEYS site 3 days a week to work on her assignments and projects. She needs input from the teacher or aide when she struggles with understanding what to do. She spends the time in the study area, working on each assignment and asking for help from the teacher or aide or one of the other students who are working on the same assignment she is. She also meetings with her teacher and the aide for 1 hour one on one, self-checking her work, figuring out the percentage of work turned in and doing her attendance. Her teacher prepares an assignments sheet for her and she works hard to make sure everything is completed on the list. Some days, she takes her 5 mastery quizzes and then works with others to master anything she has missed. She uses the computer to do most of her work and then prints out her assignments to turn in. On Mondays and Fridays she works from home with the help of her mother who checks her work to make sure that is it finished.
Ian gets up early and goes to work each day. He comes home about noon and starts his schoolwork. He prefers to work at home because he likes to work in the afternoon and late into the evening. When he has questions, he texts the teacher and soon gets a reply. If he is doing his schoolwork in the evenings, he sends his teacher an email with any questions, knowing that she will answer them the next day. Once a week, he goes to the KEYS site and meets with the aide and his teacher and completes the self checking, taking mastery quizzes, figures the percentage of work turned in, and completes his attendance. He gives his organized work to his teacher with the checklist on top and he and the teacher discuss his past work and go over his future assignments. They also discuss his work, as he is getting credit in work experience class. He wants one day to own his own business and he knows that working now will help him be able to realize his dream in the future. He knows that he needs to be extremely organized to be able to work at a business and get his studying done and his assignments completed. He is very proud of the fact that he turns 100% of his work in each week.
Sophie is a dancer and is studying to be in a national ballet company. Because of her talent and her desires, she knows that she cannot attend a traditional school. Every day, she goes to her ballet classes and practices several hours. Between practice and classes, she works on her school assignments. She knows that she has to do well so that she can get in to a specific 4 year university that she has always wanted to attend. She also works on her school assignments in the evenings when she has a dance program to work on during the day. She schedules time between her practices to meet with her teacher and the aide once a week to self check her work, do attendance, and take mastery quizzes. She meets with her teacher to discuss plans for her future, and concerns that she has about assignments, and to talk about reading and her love of books. Her teacher encourages her in her goals and they spend some time planning how she can get everything accomplished for the week. She leaves with her assignment checklist and confidence that she can discipline herself to get it all done.
Cheryl enrolled in the Keys program hoping to recover units from previously failed courses. She has set an academic goal to graduate from high school within four years. During her advisement meeting to discuss her plans, the staff explained to Cheryl that she will need to schedule additional time for her school work daily and stay current with all of her course work. During the meeting an academic plan was developed. Each week she meets with her teacher and turns in her completed work. The teacher and Cheryl create a list of assignments that will accelerate the timeline for her to complete each of her courses. Once she has completed all the lessons and passed all quizzes and exams, she will be awarded her final grade and units. She will then be allowed to enroll in the second semester of the course. Cheryl works long hours, weekends, and during holiday breaks. Over time, she sees that her hard work is beginning to close the gap and her goal of graduating in four years will be accomplished.
