Making It to Graduation

High school is an important stage of people's lives. For many of our students, reaching graduation is a tremendous milestone.

Read Kierra's story below and consider helping her and her classmates reach their goals!

When asked how she is going to feel as she walks across the stage on graduation day, she said, “I would feel accomplished. I’ll probably cry.”

Ever since she started school, Kierra’s mom has always been very strict about her academics. “She won’t let anything distract me,” said Kierra. Her mom’s support, determination, and guidance were most palpable this year. Kierra recounted, “she knew that it was gonna be my last year [in high school], and everything was gonna pile up on me, so she would tell me, ‘Sometimes you just gotta sacrifice things.’ I really matured throughout the years. Now that I’m a senior, I focus on school, getting into colleges, and working.”

As a senior, Kierra’s favorite class is actually AP Calculus. She has never been a math-type person, but her teacher, Dr. Terry Williams, made her fell in love with the class. “He really made it easy to follow and will always s stay with you until you understand,” said Kierra.  Alexys Hewlett, a recent grad of Chavez Schools and a sophomore in college, added to Kierra’s comment, “With the type of teachers we have here, teachers are willing to take you under their wings even after you graduate. If I need help writing a paper in college, they will just say, ‘Okay, come over her! I will help you!’”

Chavez Schools attract a team of devoted, passionate, caring, and talented teachers who live and breath our missions: to prepare students to succeed in competitive colleges and to empower them to use public policy to create a more just, free, and equal world. By having a dedicated Department of College and Alumni Success and a Department of Public Policy, Chavez is able to provide a wide range of programs in this two areas. This includes organizing Financial Aid Information Sessions, One-on-one FAFSA Advising Sessions, Internal College Fairs, offering Advanced Placement Courses and SAT prep classes, and many more. Chavez also has a series of public policy curricula, such as Capitol Hill Lobbying Day, public policy symposium, and Fellowship Program, to help students see how their academic skills and civic values can shape the real world.

This year, we need your help to ensure that all of our high school students have the opportunities to explore post-secondary education options and tour the colleges that they aspire to attend!

Sponsor A Student to go on A College Tour

Article by Alora Jiang; Photos by Alexys Hewlett