So much more than just another day....

The school year is drawing to a close. Seniors are suddenly aware that there is a finish line...and they are almost upon it.

Graduation time is different in an alternative school. Many of our graduates are "Super Seniors". They didn't graduate with their class...but they are still here. They are still plugging away. Underneath it all, there is this quiet hopefulness.

There are days when it looks like these seniors aren't doing much more than showing up...and to be honest, some days that is exactly what they are doing. If you were to ask the students if they think they will graduate, many will tell you that they doubt that they will. They will give you all the reasons why they can't. They know all about failing. All about disappointing their families. All about falling short of expectations.

What many of these kids don't know about is succeeding.

UNTIL a staff member, "their" staff member, comes along and pulls them towards the finish line...often with their heels dug into the ground the whole way. This is where that quiet hopefulness comes in.

By the time our kids are nearing graduation, they have usually connected with someone on staff that becomes "theirs". This is the staff member who knows them best. This is the staff member who believes in them when they don't believe in themselves.

This is the time when you see what an alternative high school is all about. And let me tell you something. It is amazing. Talk about paying it forward.

Many people will look at an alternative high school, and the students in it, and see the following:

• Drug users
• Kids that have no respect for authority
• Kids that do what they want, when they want
• Kids that "can't make it in a regular high school"

Too bad they don't also see the following:

• Kids that are "walking wounded"
• Kids that opt out of learning because they have failed so many times already
• Kids that get lost in the "regular high school" because they just don't fit in
• Kids who, because of their life experiences, don't trust

When our kids graduate, it really means something. It means so much more than the fact they have completed the requisite 22.5 credits of core & elective classes.

It means that even though they gave up, they found a way to trust enough in themselves or their staff member or something - to keep going. They managed to filter out all the nonsense in their life and get this one thing done.

And they deserve to have their moment.

I tell them that this Office Lady doesn't cry. Ever. Not even at their graduation. But just between you and me, that might not be true.