At-Risk and On-Line
Students in metro Detroit’s Westwood Community School District are excelling, and not just the students in mainstream classes. Students in the at-risk, alternative education program at Westwood have enrolled in an online class called “Cyber School,” where they can take their courses, receive credit, and matriculate along with their peers without ever having to set foot in the school itself. This remarkable opportunity has yielded results for students reaching as high as 32% increases in previous year grades. From the Detroit News:
Kyle Grigg, who was forced out of Melvindale High school for falling behind, is now heading toward graduation because he’s no longer confined to a seven-hour school day.
The flexibility means Grigg, 18, could play Scrabble with his teacher recently in the cyber school lab. His mentor turned the game into an English assignment: Write a two-page fiction story using all the words they formed.“It’s all your own pace,” said Grigg, who buses tables in Greektown and completes schoolwork at night or on days off. “It’s all on me now. If I don’t graduate now, it’s my own fault.”