Rogers working to retain Hispanic students
Posted on Sunday, March 26, 2006
ROGERS — At Rogers High School, most students spend their activity period in club meetings. But at the English Academy, where junior high and high school students are still learning the English language, the activity period is used to inspire them to remain in school.
Keeping the Hispanic students in school through graduation can be a challenge, said counselor Toni Thorn. "If you have a problem, you need to find a way to address it," she said, so she went to the an organization that has worked with the schools in the past.
Reality Check, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Rogers, brings various programs into the schools. For the English Academy, they developed a new program called, "Building for Your Future."
They begin by teaching students how to have a vision, executive director Beth Bryant said. "We try to get them to break out of the norm and find their own passion," she explained. She and two staff members will spend an hour a week in the school, acting as mentors to the students. During the final few sessions, they’ll bring in Hispanic business people to speak to the students.
It wasn’t difficult to find Hispanic business people to talk to students, Bryant said. They were happy to do it.
The lessons are presented in Spanish, although very little Spanish is spoken during class time at the English Academy. Thorn believes some lessons are so important, they need to be presented in the student’s native language.
Reality Check already presented a program on risky behavior and setting personal boundaries, Bryant said. Students responded well.
Reality Check personnel are also helping Thorn put together a health and beauty fair. Hair stylists, dental hygienists, nurses and nutritionists will be available to students. It’s important, Thorn said, for teenagers to feel good about the way they look.
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