While my students are primarily low-income and first-generation, many are high-achieving and have been accepted to many amazing colleges and universities across the country. Some have overcome insurmountable odds to gain a college acceptance, and I often wonder how many of them even make it to school on time given how many obstacles they face at home. For my students, a college education is so much more than a degree: it's a means to break the cycle of poverty and gain exposure to people and experiences that will set them up for long-term success.
My Project
Our Decision Day, part of First Lady Obama's #BetterMakeRoom initiative, will celebrate the hard work of over 140 high school seniors in the rural mountains of North Carolina. Our seniors have worked incredibly hard and have submitted 370 applications with 222 acceptances, and growing! Our seniors will be attending amazing institutions such as UNC-Chapel Hill, Occidental College (CA), The University of Virginia, Stetson University (FL), Georgia Tech, Liberty University (VA), Belmont University (TN), and so many more. These Wolverines are truly going to change the world!
To recognize their hard work, we will celebrate with an ice cream social and t-shirt tie-dyeing station using the gloves, shirts, and tie-dye kits.
We will also allow each college-bound senior to take a photo with their college pennant (featuring Harvard and Brown pennants that we don’t currently have at our school), and then post the photos on our school website. We will also have door prizes (mini fridge and Fire Stick) to encourage participation in a college-themed spirit dress competition. Finally, we will get the whole school involved with a college-themed door decorating competition. Decision Day 2018 will not only celebrate our seniors, but will inspire and energize the underclassmen to reach higher and set their sights on a college degree!
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