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Show unymgiiz- zzzzizi: "On-Line Classes Offer 'Get Out of Jail Free' Card" a break from her online class. "Taking credits during the summer sum-mer means that I can focus better bet-ter on the fun stuff, the things I like to do when they are offered during the school year instead of piling everything up and feeling feel-ing like I have no time for anything." any-thing." Ludwig agrees. "I hate having the stress of the do-or-die situation. E-classes give me the freedom to academically make adjustments when something's some-thing's not working without feeling like the sky is falling," she said. "I can work on classes from EHS as fast or as slow as I need to. A couple of hours a week spent on school during vacation va-cation means a little bit of vacation vaca-tion during school." Chadbourn adds, "It's like knowing you have a get-out-of-jail-free card in your pocket. Knowing that lets you .keep focused fo-cused and give everything your best shot." Ludwig's mom is quick to point out that a "get-out-of jail-free jail-free card" does not include the cost of books. EHS is offered year round, but activity spikes during the summer, especially the month of August. The month of April when seniors are meeting last-minute last-minute requirements for graduation gradu-ation is a close second. The online source for high school credit offers classes that some of the smaller schools may not offer. Ellen Walker teaches horse management state wide on the Internet and has since the late 1990s. "We can fill classes that have smaller participation as well as specialized classes like Physics or Calculus for which some schools may not have qualified qual-ified niche teachers," she said. "Six hundred of the students stu-dents who have graduated this past year did so with some credit cred-it with EHS," said Webb. "A little extra work during the summer sum-mer months gives students good options to be successful." It also makes for a busy summer. by Davison Cheney Entrance requirements for colleges and universities are getting get-ting more stringent. Resumes are required as are service projects, proj-ects, letters of recommendation, and personal mission platforms. Many students prepping for college visualize summer vacation vaca-tion as a little time to loosen up before fall schedules get even tighter. "I am taking four classes this summer," said Lizzie Ludwig, Lud-wig, a senior at Liahona Academy Acad-emy in Pleasant Grove. "I was hoping for popsicles and movie nights and got essays and story problems instead." "This summer has been the busiest yet," said Kathleen Webb, principal of Electronic High School, which is offered by the Utah State Office of Education Edu-cation and boasts more than 36,500 Utah students earning successful quarter class cred-: cred-: its. "We recently upgraded our server because it was chocking under the load." Traditional summer-school classes have been held in most districts in a limited capacity capac-ity since the end of the school year due to cutbacks in revenue. Many of these students are be-: be-: ing referred to online programs as a way to recover credit from a failed class. Others study online as a way to stay current because of release-time programs, which offer no credit toward graduation, gradua-tion, such as LDS seminary. ' "Our stats show that 42 percent per-cent of all high school students fail at least one class," said Webb. "Now nothing needs to stand in their way of graduating when they can get online and make-up the class at their convenience. con-venience. We want students to succeed." Increasingly common is the student looking for original credits and picking up what they need to fill graduation requirements require-ments which will allow them to devote time to their favorite activities. ac-tivities. Brandon Fanaika, a Pleasant Pleas-ant Grove High senior lineman, got little time off this summer from either his studies or from football. "There wasn't much vacation vaca-tion this year. We (he and his team) worked out individually for the month of June when coaches said we could schedule family vacations or trips, but when I wasn't conditioning, I was studying also," he said at the end of his second of two-a-day practices. "Education was stressed to me growing up," he said. "My parents showed me what my future fu-ture could be like with an education." educa-tion." Fanaika's 3.9 GPA and his status as one of the Top 10 recruited re-cruited players in the state are indicative of his duel fobjs. Combining studies with activities is not just for brawny sports types either. High school senior Jocelyn Chadbourn of Mountain View is as committed to her grades and activities as her friends on the playing field. "I dance ballroom on the team and have played violin in the orchestra," she said, taking |
