H.A.S.S. - First Week!

We are drawing close…very close to ending the first week of Higher Achievement Summer School. We are very grateful for everyone who supported us as we planned the Summer School and those that are rooting for us from wherever in the world you are!

                To make sure that we meet our 15 students’ needs we are constantly on the move and rarely have access to our phones. This has left us with the inability to answer our phones, reply quickly to emails, and sleep until we choose to wake up.

                Alas, this morning an idea came to mind, almost like an epiphany! Why not blog? Give day to day updates on how amazing our kids truly are! We almost feel selfish keeping the things they say and do to ourselves. We want all of the people that supported us to share in the experience that was half a year in the making.

                Since the idea came a little late we still want you to get a glimpse of how much they have grown in just 5 days:

First Week of Summer School

                The first week of H.A.S.S. was spent at the University of West Alabama. Our college-prep school would not be possible without the partnership with UWA. When the summer school was still in its preliminary stages, they were the first partner and we are extremely grateful for all their help. We would like to give a special shout out to Mr. Walker and Mrs. Triplett for being willing to help wherever they possibly could.   

                During the first week students read the Novel The Red Badge of Courage. Anyone that has read this book knows that it is not the easiest book to understand but our students worked hard to finish it and write an analysis in four days. Our students often split in groups to discuss the book and even cut into some of their dinner time to read.

Beyond just academics our students started to learn about how to manage their time. They had three separate homework assignments a night during the week and plenty of activities. Initially our students did not appropriate their time as best as they could but after meeting with each of them one-on-one we helped them come up with solutions that worked for them. For the rest of the week we had statements like, “can I head up to my room so I can start with my homework” and “I’m going to spend part of dinner doing my homework so I can have free time tonight”.

On Friday we had a Potluck with the parents of our students. It was a HUGE success! The parents got to meet and talk extensively with the staff, play some games, and see how much their students had learned in the short amount of time. It was good to see the parents have fun and share with us.

Higher Achievement Summer School has been a long time in the making and we could not have asked for a better first week! Subscribe to our Blog to get updates, video’s, quotes, and pictures!