Today was the first day of second semester at Sehome. This is a time when students get to start fresh with a blank grade book, new electives, and hopefully some motivation for improvement. As the site coordinator, it is a time for me to view final semester grades and reflect on what worked and what didnt. I am so impressed with one student in particular right now who made the decision to make a drastic change and take charge of her academic success. Katie is a freshman with a a very complicated family life. At the end of first quarter she was failing all but one class. I connected her with a Graduation Coach, which seemed to be helping until Katie decided she wanted to join the basketball team and could no longer meet after school. We were both fortunate that her Grad Coach was flexible and could meet during the school day. Using basketball as motivation to bring her grades up to at least passing, Katie worked diligently with her Grad Coach. I am proud to report that she finished the semester not only passing all of her classes, but bumping her 0.8 GPA up to 1.9! Initially, I was concerned that joining the basketball team would be too much of a distraction, but it proved to be just the opposite. Encouraging students to pursue something they enjoy and are passionate about can be just the motivator they need to stay connected to their school and strive for academic success! -Bergitte Olsen, Sehome CIS Site Coordinator
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 02:47:59 +0000