Graduation Speech High School - 1041 Words

In 2010, Grant High School, set out to improve (Lambertson 42-43). This school quickly went from being in the worst 5% of schools in Michigan to the superior 92% (Lambertson 43-45). This school poured effort into its programs to try to bring up test grades (Lambertson 42-45). Amazingly, Grant High School brought its average ACT score up 2.4 points in around three years (Lambertson 45). However, in the end, was this school successful? Were its students prepared to succeed? A successful high school is a school that prepares students for a job or college. In truth, a successful school prepares students for the real world. High school should teach all students the basic abilities used in the work force. Although being prepared for the real†¦show more content†¦These programs gave students a way to learn a skill in high school instead of waiting until they were college age or working age to teach them. According to Don G. Beggs, the man who came up with the schools idea, wanted to help students who would probable drop out of high school (32). In fact, Beggs states, â€Å"Of the initial 12 graduates from the first ELITE class only one indicated that he would have stayed in school without the program† (32). However, similar programs could also be used for those who do not want to go to college. These programs allow students to join the work force earlier with better jobs which in turn allows them to begin saving and investing money earlier th an otherwise, therefore leading to financial success. Another thing that a successful high school does is prepare students for college. College is obviously a very important source of financial success. However, sending students to college does not make a high school successful. A high school does not become successful until most of the students who want to go to college are prepared not only to go but also to succeed. A successful high school will definitely prepare students to succeed in college and not just go to college. A successful school is not a school that does not prepare students for college or a job. Unfortunately, many of American high schools are unsuccessful schools because of college preparation. An example of an unsuccessful school is the average