THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 16, 1996 TAG: 9606160017
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 109 lines
They each had a different story to tell, about the importance of getting a second chance, maybe, or of overcoming tough circumstances to chase their dreams.
But Saturday, these young people, most of them 17 to 21 years old, all shared a proud moment: They were awarded a high school diploma. This was one statistic of urban life that they - as well as their families and the community - could celebrate.
They were the first graduates of Norfolk Preparatory High School, an evening school opened last fall to give school dropouts and other older students who have been unsuccessful in regular day school another chance for a diploma.
``I didn't want to feel like a disappointment to my family,'' said grad Tia Sailor, 19, who dropped out of Norview High School her senior year after having a child. She plans to attend Tidewater Community College and hopes to become an elementary school teacher. ``They felt that since I had a baby, I couldn't do what I needed to to finish school. This is like me proving them wrong.''
Some parents, such as Chriscelia Edwards, marveled at their children's accomplishment. Her daughter, Chandra Edwards, 21, had dropped out of Maury High three years ago. She had two children, now ages 3 and 5, and worked a full-time job providing home care for an elderly person.
``I can hardly believe it, because she had a lot of things in her way,'' Chriscelia Edwards said. ``This is just terrific.''
Chandra said she worked from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and then attended classes at Preparatory High from 3:30 to 9:30 p.m. four evenings a week. She plans to study nursing at Norfolk State University.
``Preparatory High gave us the opportunity to do the things we knew we could do,'' Chandra said. ``It gave us courage.''
Outfitted in caps and gowns Saturday, 23 of the school's 32 grads walked across the stage at Booker T. Washington High to receive their high school diplomas. Norfolk Police Chief Melvin C. High, the keynote speaker, urged them to continue to aim high.
``Don't listen to discouraging voices that say you can't,'' High said.
``Education does open doors, but the doors won't come to you - you have to go knock.''
J. Frank Sellew, deputy superintendent of the city's schools, called the students ``pioneers'' and said the school's first graduation was ``a significant moment'' in the school system's history.
Preparatory High operated in the Madison Career Center off Hampton Boulevard, near Old Dominion University's campus, with a budget of about $309,000.
The School Board opened the school in part to combat the city's serious dropout problem, which last year was the highest in Virginia, at 8 percent. The school was modeled after a similar program in Virginia Beach.
About half of Preparatory High's 116 students this year were dropouts.
Others had been enrolled in regular school but were going nowhere because of chronic absenteeism, poor grades or attitude problems.
``I started hanging with my friends and not going to school or doing anything. School was boring, and I just got fed up with it,'' said Preparatory grad Calvin Johnson, 19, who dropped out his senior year.
With a diploma in hand, Johnson plans to study computer technology in college. The oldest of five children and the first to graduate, he made his parents proud.
``He's come a long way,'' his father, Tony Johnson, said Saturday. ``The toughest thing was to just get him to go back and stay in school because of the peer pressure out there today on young black males. Once he made up his mind, I never had any doubts he'd do it.''
Graduate Keith Lefevre, 21, said he dropped out of Granby High twice.
``It was mainly a rebellious thing against my parents. They'd say one thing, I'd do another.''
Lefevre, who manages a small restaurant at Ward's Corner, has been accepted at George Mason University, where he plans to major in engineering.
Principal Jacqueline Moore said she and the staff of 17 teachers tried to provide a nurturing atmosphere.
``We were here to be supportive and to give these kids what they needed to be successful,'' she said. ``It was a fresh start for some of these students.''
Calvin Johnson, who gave the Class of '96's farewell address, said: ``They gave me the one-on-one attention I needed to succeed. I didn't feel like I was just being pushed through the system.''
The school was not all work and no play.
Officials hung a basketball goal in the auditorium and sponsored a three-on-three basketball tourney; it also held a prom and elected a prom queen.
The school also planted community roots, forming a partnership with the First Baptist Church of Lamberts Point.
The Rev. Anthony Paige said his church has helped students find jobs, provided temporary housing for students in need, and helped pay for the prom.
``We see this as being a kind of second chance for a group of young people who otherwise would fall through the cracks and probably end up being a greater cost for everybody,'' said Paige, who attended Saturday's ceremony.
As science teacher Cheryl White watched former students cross the stage, tears came to her eyes.
``I know the troubles they've been through,'' she said.
``Even though it took them a while to accomplish their goals, they finally have.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by BETH BERGMAN/The Virginian-Pilot
Cynthia Landon, center, 17, with her mother, Susan, left, and her
sister Debbie, 23, right. Cynthia graduated from Norfolk Preparatory
High School on Saturday afternoon. Her sister is also working on
completing her GED.
Photo by BETH BERGMAN\The Virginian-Pilot
Calvin Johnson, center, was one of 32 Norfolk Preparatory High
School graduates who got their diplomas on Saturday. The school
opened last fall to give dropouts and other older students another
chance to graduate.
KEYWORDS: NORFOLK SCHOOLS GRADUATION by CNB