Helping students make the right choice The Islands' Sounder, December 20, 2002 By Diane Cooper Ted Grossman Photo James Brown discovered while working at Rosario Resort that he wants to become a chef. Part three of a four-part series on the commitment being made by Orcas High School to prepare students for success. Part four will appear Wednesday, Jan 15. Jonathan Calhoun loves video games. From the time he was six years old and his father brought home a Nintendo Entertainment System, the Orcas High School senior has been hooked. “I’ve always played video games every chance I can get,” says Calhoun, who owns an extensive collection of older—as well as current—Nintendo, Sony and Atari video consoles and their corresponding video cartridges. Two years ago, at age 15, Calhoun’s interest in video games shifted. “I began sitting down and looking at them from a designer standpoint,” he says. In hopes of understanding more about the medium, Calhoun enrolled in every computer class Orcas High School offered, and he joined Tish Knapp’s Creative Writing course to expand his skills in plot and dialogue development. Today, Calhoun is taking steps to transform his hobby into a career. He just completed the rough-draft of his senior paper, in which he examines the effects of video game violence on children, and he is researching two vocational schools that specialize in video game design: Nintendo’s Digipan Institute in Redmond, and The Center for Digital Imaging and Sound in Vancouver, B. C. “Jonathan is a primo example of what students should be doing,” compliments OHS principal Barbara Kline. For some OHS students, the decision about “life after high school” was made long before they arrived as freshmen. “Ninety-eight percent of our students enter high school with the assumption that they will attend four-year colleges,” says Kline. Usually by senior year, however, 35-40 percent of Orcas students have decided against moving immediately into a four-year college environment. Some make two-year commitments to junior colleges while others choose vocational or technical schools. “College isn’t for everybody—at least not right off the bat,” reveals Kline, who notes that some students recoil at the thought of sitting in hard chairs under fluorescent lights for another four years. “Early on, we emphasize that in today’s world, all students need some kind of education after high school, but that four-year college is not the only good choice,” she says. “We would rather see a student go to a two-year school and transfer to a four-year school, than start out at four-year school and fail.” “We are much more concerned with helping kids find their ‘right paths’ than we are with placing high percentages of Orcas students in four-year colleges,” agrees OHS guidance counselor Nancy Wrightsman. “Our job is to provide direction—not to force. We care most that the students’ choices lead them to personal success and happiness,” she says. Historically, Orcas High School has had few offerings to challenge students who wish to explore vocational paths. “We face unusual obstacles on Orcas Island by nature of being both rural and isolated,” says Kay Grossman, coordinator for Community Resource Training, a worked-based education program at Orcas High School that helps students gain work experience and exposure to career options. “It’s harder for our kids to understand what’s out there in the work field.” To address these challenges, Wrightsman has spent the last six years designing and honing a dynamic series of classes to help Orcas students make thoughtful decisions about their futures. “Life Skills”, as the program is called, begins at Orcas Middle School in the seventh grade with nine weeks of exploration emphasizing self-respect, empowerment, and teamwork. Eighth grade students have a second nine-week series of Life Skills classes where the emphasis is on understanding choices and on creating a five-year educational plan for high school and the first year following graduation. The course culminates in tenth grade with a battery of “interest surveys” and a re-evaluation of each student’s Five-Year Plan. Taught personally by Wrightsman, the Life Skills classes offer the guidance counselor direct insight into each student’s interests and goals. “I get class time with each and every kid in our school,” explains Wrightsman, who emphasizes that the benefit lies in being involved in the students’ lives at multiple decision-making points in their middle school and high school years. “Our goal is to engender whatever is uniquely special to each kid,” she says. OHS senior James Brown thought that four-year college would be his path when he created an education plan in Wrightsman’s Life Skills class several years ago. Last year, however, while evaluating his interests, he began to reassess his thinking. “I came to the realization that I really like being around food,”James Brown says, attributing his attraction to sharing a home with a father and mother who both enjoy cooking. Last summer, despite having never cooked in a restaurant, Brown pursued a job with Rosario Resort head-chef Geddes Martin, hoping to explore the field of cooking. After several conversations, Martin’s initial hesitation to hiring a high school chef gave way to agreement, and Brown found himself with a position in Rosario’s kitchen. “I loved it,” smiles Brown, citing the variety and pace of the work as part of the job’s appeal. Brown recently applied to the Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Ore., and this week, received word of his acceptance for September enrollment. “Our students can benefit from living in this small, talented community,” says Grossman, who explains that the remoteness that can separate kids from mainland opportunities can just as frequently work to students’ advantages. “Because we are isolated on an island, Orcas students have opportunities for work that they might not get on the mainland,” she explains. “Connections with working adults outside our school are powerful for kids.” Through Grossman’s CRT program, Orcas High School student interns are paired with employers in a variety of work fields. Frequently, students initiate the employment relationships, but often, Grossman searches-out specific career opportunities for interested interns. “Because our school is small, we extend into the community, and the community, in turn, becomes part of our school,” Grossman says. “Together, we do a pretty good job of not letting kids slip through the cracks,” says Grossman, referring to the OHS faculty and administration’s dedication to helping students make good decisions about their futures. Kline wholeheartedly agrees. “Regardless of the paths they choose, our students are making the decisions and selecting success for themselves. Their choices are stronger because they own them in a very personal way,” Kline says. Jonathan Calhoun, in musing about his future, demonstrates Kline’s belief that with support and guidance, Orcas High students can find personal paths that lead to fulfillment. “I haven’t been the greatest student in school,” Calhoun admits, “but I know I’ll be successful at this—I do well if I enjoy the subject. My family is really excited for me. I can’t imagine waking-up in the morning and not being happy about designing video games!”