School Starts Anew (and With a New School, Too!)

Monday marked the official end of the long summer break and the beginning of a new school for both Cory and Christopher.  They left 100+ year old Corona High with about 4,000 kids and started anew at JFK, a middle college high school of 700 students in Norco (about 20-25 minutes away).  JFK is in it's third year and is fresh and new with a uplifting attitude, too!  It is on the campus of a local two year college so the boys will be taking college classes while still high school students.  It's a great concept - teaching kids to be independent and responsible, and allowing them the freedom to move between their HS and college.  No more policeman and security guards patrolling the huge school looking for offenders out of class!  No more disgusting bathrooms with kids smoking inside and teachers with tenure that shouldn't be teaching anymore.   The stories we could tell you would shock you. 

JFK's Principal was given 1.5 years to create the philosophy and build the school.  He interviewed over 1,100 teachers, hiring 18 of the best to start this school.  I am told it is the largest middle college HS in the US.  The kids can get help from any teacher on campus and will get to know most all kids at the school.  And, as Cory says, "it's without all the drama" that he saw daily at CHS.  When we toured the campus many times last school year, the Principal would ask kids we saw walking around to tell us what they liked about JFK.  We consistently heard that kids felt lost at CHS and were now getting all A's and some B's and  about their teachers being more flexible, interesting and supportive of them.  But the biggest shock was about the "lack of drama" and problems and how they could concentrate on their studies.  While it was a big commitment on our part since there is no busing,  we feel the learning opportunities and atmosphere are well worth the cost.

Christopher is 15.5 years old and started 10th grade.  He is 5'11 inches and still growing with a size 13 shoe!  (I was going to add a picture of his feet but decided against it!)  He has 5 JFK classes and 1 college class, Intro to Sociology.  He took a summer school class as well and learned about computer animation.  By the time he graduates, he will have about 10-12 college classes under his belt.  It's great because the pace is up to him.  Some students even graduate from HS and get their AA at the same time.  He is standing in our front yard at our normal picture spot for first day school pictures.  It is a fun place because each year we see how much taller he is in relation to the Carrotwood Tree behind him!

Cory is 16.5 and in the 11th grade.  Since he didn't have take a  summer classes (and thus had no priority college registration), he wasn't able to get into a college class.  With California's budget problem, a significant number of college classes have been dropped (and class size increased).  We spent hours trying to find a college class that he could take to no avail.  At 6' tall and a social butterfly (is that still the term?!?), school is nice and to be endured but friends, clothes and fun are the most important.  He has already made many new friends there.  I included this picture which was taken in January on his 16th birthday at ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney because the first day picture wasn't as good.