Graduation Season

Friday. Integrated math two, honors. (Read: advanced freshmen and sophomores.) 

They weren't actually having a final the next week. They were taking a quiz on the latest unit. (No cumulative final. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.) They had review work on it. (Factoring and solving quadratic equations.) 

Ah, but it was the last Friday of the school year, and it was the day of the senior farewell assembly. (Their teacher was the advisor for the senior class, ever since they started at the school. So, she was involved in doing all the graduation things, hence why she was out of class.) We had activities that were going to interrupt class (not that anyone truly minded). 

Towards the middle of the period, we all stopped and stood outside as the seniors in their caps and gowns walked the campus. They've been doing this for several years, and I've been present for it several times. In previous years the kiddos weren't all that enthused about this, but this year these students had friends in the senior class, so the seniors stopped and gave hugs or fist bumps. 

(I recognized many faces. Several from various long terms I did last year and the year before that.) 

After the seniors walked the campus, we all went to the gym for the assembly. I had not gotten to go to one of these before, and it was emotional. Mostly for the staff. I'm sure some of the seniors were upset, though. As the festivities started, one girl ran for the restroom. One of the senior teachers followed her to make sure she was okay. 

I warn the kiddos that this is going to happen. Throughout the year I tell the seniors that it's going to go fast, and they're going to feel it when it happens. They don't believe me. Well, some of them believe me. 

After the assembly, we went back to class, but I had the next period group. Back to work... 

Although, the seniors were wandering campus. In their caps and gowns. It's a good reminder to the underclassmen that this is what they're working towards. 

The last day of school was yesterday. Next week's posts will wrap up the school year with my last working days. And the week after, before summer schedule goes into effect, I'll do my annual stats post for the classes I worked this school year.

Finishing Up

Tuesday. The penultimate week of school. I managed to catch an English class for seniors. 

Their finals had been the previous week. Their grades were due the prior Friday. They were effectively done. 

Not quite half the class showed up. For the first class. For the second, it was more like a third were present. 

There was no actual lesson plan. "They can play games." The teacher had some board games left out. 

The first class played the games. The second class, well, there were maybe ten of them. 

Three students came up to me to ask if they could hang out in their photography class. Any other day, I'd hesitate. But seniors? Now? No problem. 

I didn't even blink when a random student asked if he could hang out in this class. (His friend was in the class. They spent the period chatting.) 

Then that same student asked if he and his friend could "wander" campus. 

And that's where I had to draw the line. 

While the seniors were done, the rest of the students were not. Some teachers might have been doing early finals. (The finals week schedule is not great, so some teachers start or just do the whole final early.) And if they weren't doing early finals, they were preparing for finals or doing actual school work. 

I could not permit roaming students. 

The student understood. He sat back down and continued talking to his friend. 

I do love the easy days. 

Petty

The adult transition center starts its day about an hour later than everyone else. Which has been really nice. 

The school shares its parking lot with the elementary school next door. There's always plenty of parking. 

I've been rolling in 30-45 minutes before the start of the school day. It gives me time to set up things and get ready for the day. 

As I was driving in last Wednesday, I passed another elementary school on my way to "my" school. I noticed that they had everything set up for a sixth grade promotion ceremony. I got a little teary-eyed thinking about how the sixth graders were transitioning.

The obvious didn't occur to me until I got to "my" school. 

But when I saw cars pulling out of the parking lot, I knew.

The elementary school next door was also having a sixth grade promotion ceremony, and all the parents had overwhelmed the parking lot. 

They had spilled out into the street. And there was no leftover parking for, um, teachers who hadn't started our day yet.

Grumble, grumble.

I pulled out of the parking lot and headed to the neighborhood across the street. I found parking, and I walked in. (The street is fairly busy, so this walking in included going half a block to the nearest crosswalk.) 

As I headed for the classroom, I ran across a car parked in a loading zone. Normally, I wouldn't really care. But this car was in our loading zone. That is, it was in the spot where the buses for our school have to park to drop off our students. 

Oh no...

So, I called and reported the car to our office. (I may have asked if the car could be towed.) Because our buses were arriving in about fifteen minutes, they'd need a place to stop. 

Was I being petty? Yup. But I'm okay with that. There's a reason that's marked as a loading zone.

Every single aide was late. As were the other two teachers. (Well, later than they normally are. Not very "late" late.) We all had the same issue.

I asked about the car in the buses' loading zone. They said it was gone.

I doubt they had enough time to tow the car. I'm sure they just called over to the elementary school and had someone make an announcement to move their car. But at least it was moved.

And when the ceremony was over and the parents departed, we all (one at a time) went and retrieved our cars and parked them in the lot. It was a minor inconvenience, really. 

I just wish someone had given us a heads up beforehand. We could have arrived earlier that day. Oh well.

Virtual Ceremony

At the adult transition center, the students don't "graduate". We had our "culmination" ceremony last Wednesday. 

Today is actually our last day of school. Woo-hoo! I'll have the wrap up of the school year along with my year end stats for you next week. And then the week after... Summer school. Because they asked me and I said yes.

The students "age out" at 22. We only have one student who will be 22 in July. 

It was a virtual ceremony even though the other schools in the district are holding in person graduations this year. The principal had put together a slide show, and I set up the virtual meet to be projected in the class for all the students.

I have been projecting things to the students since I took over this class. No issues. For this? No sound.

I tried everything. In the end, while they could see everything on screen, they had to hear the ceremony via the speakers on my laptop computer. Sigh. 

It was a nice ceremony. The had pictures of all nine "graduates" along with their baby pictures. So cute. 

Because it was virtual, it went a lot quicker than it would have if everything had been in person. I totally copped out when it was time for me to talk about Elena. I wished her luck in her future. Luckily, Ms. L (the class' newly retired teacher) was there (as a surprise), so she said a few words about Elena. It was sweet. 

And then there was a spot for pictures (the families could come to have pictures taken) and cake. 

I'm going to miss this class when I leave. At least I got to do this celebration with them.

Graduation Day

It was kind of a strange week at the continuation high school. I had been scheduled to cover one day, on Friday, with the rest of the week at other schools in the district. Due to illnesses, I got switched to cover different classes at the continuation high school all week. It's not a bad thing, just odd.

It was Monday in the computer aided drafting class, and the kiddos were doing the usual--avoiding doing work. So, I gave a variation of my usual speech: they can make progress with a sub in the room.

Instead of the usual ignore, I got support from an unlikely source.

I've had Jordan in various classes. He's usually one of the non workers. But this day he was raring to go, and he actually said to the other students that they should get some work done, too.

Alas, he needed to work on a cutting tool that was forbidden with a sub (safety issue).

I offered to allow the students to work on other classes' assignments so their time wouldn't be wasted. Jordan took me up on the offer.

On Tuesday, I was back. (The teacher must have caught the cold that's going around.) Jordan was disappointed. On Monday, he had managed to finish up his social studies credits. And by "finish up", I mean he had completed all the credits he needed for graduation in social studies.

Jordan needed two more credits to graduate. And those needed to be in the C.A.D. class, which he would earn by completing the assignment on the cutting tool that was forbidden...

As we talked it out, Jordan realized he could design what he was going to cut on a computer, which should have saved him time when his teacher returned, so at least the day wasn't a complete waste.

I saw Jordan again on Thursday. He was checking out of school. It's the last hoop they have to jump through--they have all the teachers sign the check out form. He was officially done.

A short time later, they made his graduation announcement. Every time a student finishes all their credits (officially graduates), an adult at the school announces it over the P.A. They play "Pomp and Circumstance" as the adult chosen by the student (usually a teacher, but sometimes it's the principal or one of the school's support staff) says nice things about the student, and they usually say something about the student's future plans.

So, Jordan did finish those last two credits. There's something about being that close to done that really motivates them.

Wasting Class Time

It's been a while since I was at the continuation high school. Not much there has changed.

Graduation is fast approaching. To qualify for the graduation activities, including the graduation ceremony, the students have to have all of their credits posted by sometime this week. (The events of this post happened last week.)

Sixth period. History.

The conversation started with grad night. One girl had gotten her ticket for the festivities. (I'm not sure where they're going this year.) The other two girls in her group were discussing whether they needed to go to school that day.

Somehow, this segued into how many credits they had. To graduate, they must have 220. One was 20 short. One was 14 short. And the third girl whispered to the others how many more she needed.

They spent much of the period discussing how many credits they needed. Then they moved on to astrology (and whether the Aries was compatible with her Capricorn boyfriend--although they weren't certain he was a Capricorn). That led to sex (and which girl was a virgin and which girls were not).

What they did not discuss: the assignment. They spent the whole period, an hour, discussing stuff and not doing any work. You know, assignments that would give them points that add up to credits so they can graduate on time.

I did point this out.

"I only need two credits for this class."

"I'll get it done."

Deep sigh.

I will not be surprised if one or more of them fail to walk this year. But they did it to themselves.

Finishing Up

Sometimes, I really feel how long I've been subbing.

Friday. I was covering the ASB class. They spent the period painting posters for an upcoming rally.

Sarah walked in. She wasn't in fourth period, but she had gotten permission from her fourth period teacher to go to her ASB class.

I recognized the teacher's name. She teaches AP statistics. The AP statistics test has already happened, so that class is done for the year, hence the reason why Sarah could leave class without missing anything.

As the kiddos painted (and they got a lot done that period), they talked. Sarah is graduating, and she's going to attend ASU in the fall. Her twin brother is going somewhere back east. (He's the ASB president for the school and was also in this class.)

I remembered where and when I had first encountered Sarah. It made the blog. It was summer school. Health class for students who hadn't taken health during the school year. She made that silly PowerPoint. (You remember the one. "Sixteen and Pregnant".)

I have encountered her and her brother from time to time since that health class. They're of the academic sort that rarely make the blog as they generally do their work and don't give me any trouble.

The reason they made the blog today is because Sarah was also talking about her birthday. It's tomorrow. She and her brother are turning 18.

Man, I feel so old...

Everyone (Doesn't) Graduate from High School

I was back in the computer aided drafting class I'd been in all month. The teacher was stuck on jury duty. Let me repeat: FOR OVER A MONTH!

It was again Wednesday advisory. This day's big announcement was about picture day. As most of the students hadn't been at the school for the last picture day, I gave them a brief overview of how it would go.

Lucas wanted to know what would happen if he ditched school that day. (Some students I am totally not surprised to find at the continuation high school. Lucas practically announced he was going to end up here.)

It turned out the issue was Lucas didn't want to take the traditional cap and gown picture. Why not? He didn't want to celebrate getting a high school diploma. "Everyone graduates from high school," he complained.

Um, no, Lucas, they don't.

I was at one of the other schools the previous school year. It was one of those days where my assignment disappeared, so the office gave me busy work to do. On this day the busy work was stamping transcripts.

I wasn't paying close attention to the transcripts. I found an empty spot, and I'd stamp them as "official". After a while, I noticed that some of the transcripts didn't have "graduation" on it. Instead of "class of", the transcript just kind of ended. That's when I realized. These were the students who didn't graduate.

Most of the transcripts were for graduates. But there were several where the student did not finish.

Not everyone graduates from high school.

I attempted to tell Lucas this. He wasn't hearing me. He had moved on.

But what I found sad was that he wasn't thinking that earning a high school diploma was an accomplishment. Because it is. It is an accomplishment denied to some.

The Ungraduate Graduates

It's week three in the computer aided drafting class. (The teacher is on jury duty. The trial is dragging on.)

Somewhere at the start, Travis informed me he was graduating soon. And as he didn't need this class, he spent his time playing games.

I did the usual. I suggested that he could get work from other classes (like his other "careers" class) and bring it in. Why waste a period? He didn't see my point. He would rather play games.

So, naturally, when that Friday rolled around, Travis did not have all the credits he needed to graduate. But I already told you that story last week.

Monday, Travis was back. The two credits he needed in careers had been reduced to just one. So, he had the day to spend in my class to do the work.

It's amazing how well students work when the motivation is right. For three and a half hours, Travis plugged along on a project. He took breaks at break time, but then he went right back to it, not getting distracted by games, his phone, or anything else. By the end of fourth period, Travis had completed his project and submitted it.

Then he spent fifth period playing computer games while he waited for his sister to come and pick him up.

He graduated last Wednesday. It took a day for the teacher to check his work and approve the final credit.

And while I'm glad that he managed to finish high school, I know he could have been finished a couple days sooner. I try to tell the students this, but alas, I think this is one of those things they have to learn the hard way.

The Ungraduate

It was Friday of the second week in the computer aided drafting class at the continuation high school. I got a call from the counselor. It was about Travis.

I've had Travis in various classes over the years. He's nice enough, but with an Eddie Haskell vibe.

Week one in class Travis informed me that he was in class for "careers". (They are required to do five credits worth of careers at the school, the equivalent of a semester course.) He needed two more credits.

And this is where we all dropped the ball. I thought I was in the class for a week, so I didn't think too much of this. And Travis didn't press me on assigning him work worth two credits in careers. I thought he was getting those credits from another teacher. And Travis spent all his time in class playing computer games.

But on Friday, the counselor wanted to know what Travis had gotten done. He was supposed to graduate that day, and all he was missing were those two credits in careers.

Oops.

Yeah, he'd done nothing in class. Well, he'd half-assed a couple assignments, but nothing worth two credits.

Contacting the regular teacher was difficult because he was on jury duty. He wouldn't be able to see what Travis had submitted to him (via online means) until he was done for the day.

So, Travis missed his graduation date.

The way the continuation high school works, the students graduate as soon as they have completed their credits. So, Travis could graduate the following Monday if he manages to get those credits done. Or he could graduate Tuesday.

While I feel a bit bad for having not followed up on Travis' credits, I'm not terribly concerned about causing him to not graduate. Because he will. Just a bit later than originally expected. (At this point he's a fifth year senior, so it's not the first time he's missed a graduation date.)

By the way, the trial the teacher is on is dragging out. I'll be back the next week. I'll let you know if/when Travis does manage to graduate.

Graduation

I'm at the continuation high school quite a lot, but I haven't had reason to mention how students graduate from there. I think this needs a little explanation.

In a traditional high school, credits are earned per semester. At the end of any given semester, the students earn 5 credits per class completed. If a student earns an "F", that student did not complete the class, and that student did not earn those credits.

To graduate from high school, a student must earn 220 credits. Those credits are allocated to various subjects, so for example, the student must complete 40 of them in English, 10 per year. There's a list of the requirements that every student has access to, especially when they sign up for classes for the next year.

When a student earns a lot of F's, that student is in danger of not graduating, so that student gets transferred to the continuation high school. (There is a waiting list to get in, however, so getting that transfer isn't as easy as I just made it sound.)

To graduate from the continuation high school, a student must still earn 220 credits. But rather than earn 5 credits per semester per course, a student earns credits by the amount of classwork completed. So, a student can earn more credits faster. Or, if the student sits and stares at walls, that student earns no credits.

Because earning credits is based on amount of work completed, a student at the continuation high school can earn credit #220 at just about any time. And when that last credit is recorded, that student is finished.

The school has a little ceremony every time someone graduates. (They do have a graduation ceremony with caps and gowns and diplomas in June as well.) Over the PA system to the school at large, they ring a bell. "Pomp and Circumstance" plays. Then a teacher or other staff member (the student gets to pick who) says a few nice words and then announces the graduation of the student. The office staff applauds.

And then we go back to our day.

This happens frequently enough that I don't usually make mention of it. It happens more frequently at this time of year.

So, why am I mentioning this today?

Last Friday, the announcement was for Angel. (Remember Angel from last week's Thursday's post?)

I figured since I had just talked about her here that you all might be interested to hear of her graduation.