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Goals
Get a full scholarship to attend a private middle school
Joy has had a natural affinity for school since she can remember. She was often awarded "Student of the Week" in elementary school, because her unwavering commitment to her studies led to excellent grades. This landed Joy in the principal's office of her elementary school for special recognition several times each year.
Joy learned of Community Prep on the last day of her 5th grade, when the principal of her public elementary school managed to spot her in a loud, bustling crowd of students anxious to embrace the immense freedom that was summer. The principal presented Joy with a folder of materials about Community Prep and told Joy she would be "in trouble" if she did not have her parents call the school. More afraid of the repercussions of being in trouble with the principal than cognizant of what the opportunity could present, Joy insisted for weeks that her parents call the school. Eventually, Joy's mother called the school and an interview for admission was arranged. Joy's interview was a success and she was granted a full scholarship to attend the school for 3 years.
Had Joy not been noticed and literally picked out of the crowd by the principal, she would have attended a local middle school, where students had to pass through a metal detector before entering the classroom. The likelihood Joy would have continued to pursue a path of academic excellence there is slim.
Key to accomplishing this goal in a nutshell:
- Eat breakfast. Many public schools in the US provide free breakfast to students from families within qualifying income brackets.
- Raise your hand. A portion of everyone's paycheck that you see working every month goes to taxes to fund public schools. You can give back by participating.
- Do your own homework.
- Ask someone to read to you. If your parents or siblings are not big into reading, go to the library and get audio books and then read along with the actual book.
- Ask your teachers and librarians for help on school work and also how to find scholarships to schools and other programs that may interest you, like summer camp.