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Opening celebration of the AdvancePath Academy at Christa McAuliffe HS on June 1, 2012. Photo credit: Margo Minecki, LACOE.
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First Year Anniversary celebrated at LACOE Academy
April 9, 2013 marked the first year anniversary of the AdvancePath Academy at Christa McAuliffe High School, an intensive high school program designed to help incarcerated students. The facility is located on the campus of the Challenger Memorial Youth Center in Lancaster, CA. The Academy serves youth offenders who may not have succeeded in a traditional classroom setting and who may have major gaps in their academic achievement. Here, students and teachers work together to build the academic and social skills needed to attain a high school diploma.
Teacher Pat Tomlin, who has been with the team since the Academy's inception, reflected upon this first year: "The Academy education exposes students to a professional environment, preparing them for the workforce. In the Academy the student develops more direct responsibility for his education and his own success. A best moment here would have to be seeing the confidence a student gained in writing. After working for some time, one-on-one with his teacher, the 'lights came on' and the student finally unlocked the mystery of writing a solid five paragraph essay. He then requested additional writing assignments for practice and was really motivated to take the California High School Exit Examination for the English Language Arts. We are waiting to get the results right now. This type of progress - in skills and in attitude - is happily, repeated with other students here on a pretty regular basis."
Pictured above (l-r): Marsha Watkins, principal, McAuliffe HS; Arturo Delgado, LACOE superintendent; Luis Dominguez, North Region camps superintendent, Probation; Rita Hadjimanoukian, education deputy for Supervisor Michael Antonovich; and County Board of Education members Katie Braude and Gabriella Holt.
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 March Academy Graduates |
The following AdvancePath Academy students have completed all coursework and requirements during March to earn their District's high school diploma.
Welcome to the Class of 2013!
ALAKSA: Nick Biesanz, JeTanja Branch, Anthony LaFramboise, and Kegan Philbrick
CALIFORNIA: Calleigh Backrak, Jordan Boes-Hampton, Kendrick Browning, Morgan Burdick, Jeff Fryer, Janie Galvan, Nicholas Garcia, Lance Geroso, Jordan Heller, Sarah Houston, Andres Lara, Niaja Lartigue, Kyle List, Morgan Mabry, Tanner Mangum, Destiny Martinez, William (Marshall) McGregor, Isabel Morales, Ashley Mordonedo, Aaron Nunley, Electra Pace, Christopher Perez, Kieleen Pilcher, Aundra Porter, Humberto Salcedo, Sarrian Schneider, Raul Vital, Travis White, and Salina Wiseman-Becker
MARYLAND: Ronald Brown, Vincent Livingston, Atikpoh Ostitadinma, and Lauren Shindlecker
MICHIGAN: Marina Lulgjuraj and Kayla Rose Rasmussen | |
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Scholarships available for Academy grads
AdvancePath Academics offers individual scholarship awards of $2,500 to two graduating students from each Academy. Applicants must demonstrate academic and personal achievement while with the Academy and must use the award towards post-secondary education or training.
Application forms are available at each Academy and are due to Academy Lead Teachers no later than Friday, April 19. Click here for more information and check with Academy Lead Teachers and Registrars for all requirements and necessary forms.
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Edison HS AdvancePath Academy students on Open House Day had big smiles for the camera and for guests to the Academy. Pictured here are: Jose Barajas, Dupree Johnson, Abigail Montes, Carlos Castellon, and Taleeya Celestine.
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Students and teaching team welcome guests to Edison High School Academy Open House
The AdvancePath Academy at Edison High School invited Stockton Unified School District (SUSD) staff and community members to the Academy launch and Open House on the morning of Wednesday, April 3. Guests were greeted by students from the Academy and Edison High School who served as escorts throughout the event. Over 60 campus visitors, including trustees of the SUSD Board of Education, had the opportunity to see the Academy "in action" during Academy tours and through informal discussions with students. During opening ceremonies, SUSD's superintendent, Dr. Steve Lowder, delivered keynote remarks to the group. He along with speakers SUSD Assistant Superintendent Mark Hagemann and AdvancePath Academics CEO John Murray stressed the need for instructional programs that build student successes, offering every student the opportunity and support needed to graduate from high school both college and work ready. "It's all about the kids," shared Dr. Lowder. In keeping with the day's festivities, The Academy team with the assistance of staff and students of Edison High School, decorated the high school's main entrance, its library and the Academy. Academy students contributed to a special slide presentation expressing the many reasons why being a part of their Academy was the right choice for them: "Before the Academy I had doubts, I thought I might not graduate. I feel better about myself," shared Diana Buenrostro. "Learning here in the Academy, I am motivated to push forward." _____________________________
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Lead Teacher Mike Shroyer (l) with Edison HS Asst. Principal Chris Goodwin (r).
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The Academy teaching team at Edison HS includes: Mike Shroyer, Lead Teacher; Margaret Salazar, Educational Consultant; David Woodford, Teacher; Richard Lynch, Teacher; and, Damion McMiller, AdvancePath Community Liaison.
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Tonisha Renee Reynolds (1) and Arianna Williams-Smart (r) are analyzing all their career options.
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Planning ahead
Two Juniors with the La Entrada Academy use hands-on career experiences and introspective planning sessions to explore their work and life options
Make a plan. Stick to it. Sounds like good advice. But the path to graduation and beyond can be anything but a straight line. Two enterprising young ladies, whose own lives have already delivered some twists and turns, are involved in serious planning at their AdvancePath Academy. Tonisha Reynolds and Airianna Williams-Smart are taking full advantage of course offerings and workplace experiences to learn more about life after high school.
"...what's best is that we analyze what we are going to do."
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Tonisha and Airianna are morning students at the La Entrada AdvancePath Academy in Sacramento. This academic term they are both also enrolled in a regional occupation program class, "Careers with Children." Every Tuesday, the young ladies make a two-bus trek to the Mesa Verde High School for this course which focuses on careers working with preschool-age children. This program incorporates internships at a daycare center as well as field trips to regional colleges and universities. It also included a slightly out-of the ordinary 48 hours. Students were assigned a mechanical baby and each was responsible for taking all appropriate actions in the care and nurturing of an infant - including handling an infant in distress. "That baby cried so much," shared Tonisha. "From two until five in the morning, there was crying. I kept wondering how was I ever going to go to school that morning?"  Tonisha's experiences helped her determine that this is not where she wants to be after high school. "My mom was a preschool teacher and I thought that looked like a good job. But, after dealing with that mechanical baby, I don't want to have to deal with that all day long. Not now. I won't even consider a child of my own until after I have my job, my house, and my car," Tonisha mused. Airianna chimed in, "That's a good idea."
Airianna enrolled to explore options in Early Childhood Development. She is the mother of a nearly five-year old boy and would like her first career step beyond high school to be in the education field. "I want to go to school for early childhood education, but then go back later to become an Emergency Medical Technician," stated Airianna.
Both young ladies are about a year away from graduation and they are using this time to thoroughly research their career options. They are setting goals and are determined to see them through. Airianna and Tonisha were quick to attribute this approach to a small group learning experience at their AdvancePath Academy. They beamed when discussing their Academy's seminar-style course that explores ways to establish personal goals and to manage academic, social, and emotional life issues. Students meet three times weekly with their teacher to discuss plans and obstacles in the way. "This is a great experience. We talk about everything. It's so open," shared Tonisha. "We cover the room with posters filled with our ideas," Airianna stated, "but what's best is that we analyze what we are going to do." Both agreed that the informal setting and relevant topics "make you sit down and think." Said Tonisha, "I am going to be a nurse or a therapist. I'm not sure which yet. What I do know is that nothing is going to get in my way."
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 Career workshop held at Hemet High Eighth annual business education summit is a joint presentation of the Hemet and San Jacinto Unified School Districts.
-- submitted by Fil Uribe, Community Liaison, AdvancePath Academy, Hemet, CA. |
Students of the Hemet, CA, AdvancePath Academy attended the 8th annual Hemet/San Jacinto Unified School Districts' Business Education Summit, held March 21 at Hemet High School. Students had the opportunity to learn more about careers in a wide range of technical and professional fields including finance, green technologies, transportation, construction, culinary arts, healthcare, education and more. Company representatives were on hand to share their experiences and answer questions throughout the day. Once checked in for the day's activities, students were greeted with opening remarks by Hemet Unified School District's Director of Human Resources, John Huber and Keynote Speaker, Scott Greenberg. Mr. Greenberg was a promising graduate film student at New York University when he was diagnosed with cancer. Inspired by his grandmother, a "Schindler's List" holocaust survivor, he beat the disease and went on to run in the Los Angeles Marathon. Today he is a nationally renowned motivational speaker on the topics of leadership, resiliency and working to peak performance. Academy student Merlinda Bautista shared, "Scott Greenberg showed us the importance of a positive perspective and how much it influences your ability to reach goals. The day was full of inspiration and interesting information. All in all, it was a fantastic experience." | |
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