Picking Schools
By: Danny Hernandez
[Danny Hernandez is a junior at Golder College Prep on Chicago’s west side. Danny’s essay first appeared in 826CHI’s The Windows Reflect Everything as part of their Young Authors’ Book Project. The views expressed below are strictly those of the writer.]
Life comes with many different opportunities. Some examples of this are when a person gets the job offer of their dreams. Maybe it is when you get the chance to travel around the world and enlighten yourself. One of the first opportunities comes when eighth graders are picking high schools. This may be a time in many people’s lives where they find out who they are as a person. Throughout the Chicagoland area there are thousands of students who are picking the high school they think best defines them. It all starts with sending in an application to the high schools of their dreams. Little do many of those students truly understand what they are doing. My fellow classmate Ivanna Lorenzana learned this the hard way her first time picking schools. Her story is a great example of how life gives you several different opportunities to make it right.
When it comes to picking schools there are hundreds out there. For selective schools, most students get in with the scores ranging from 800 to 900. A higher score means a wider choices of schools. A student’s score is made up of their grades, standardized test scores, and an entrance exam.
Then come the private schools that you also have to test to get into. That test is separate from the selective schools. With private schools comes more costs. If the person chooses to go to one of these schools they are expected to pay tuition, with some of them costing $14,000 and up, depending on where you go. Now, if a parent or student doesn’t want to pay, they still have plenty of choices from public and charter schools. Picking schools comes with many great factors. The fact is, picking the right school is an important thing that can set you up for life or whatever comes after high school.
The best way to understand this is by telling the story of a student who went about this entirely the wrong way. Her name is Ivanna Lorenzana. She was not able to make her first choice right away, but she was able to make it the second time around. The school of her dreams was Lincoln Park, but she got stuck at her neighborhood school. Now she is at Golder and loves it. Like many other students, she did not take into consideration the factors of picking a high school.
Since she did not know about the importance of selecting a high school, she was then forced to go to her neighborhood school. She couldn’t be herself at all. The school was just like any other neighborhood school. The school had gangs, violence, and bullying. She wasn’t herself until she came to Golder.
I said factors, because a good handful of parents and students try their best to get their student into a good school, but many things get into the way of that. That, or they don’t put enough thought into this idea. A good high school can take a person a long way.
Another factor that comes into play is the idea of the school name. Now, many kids try going to the biggest school or the school that everyone knows. The problem with that notion is that the schools may not be good for you just because it has a famous name. It is also because the school is known for one thing and kids think they want that. This is what Ivanna did. She wanted to go to Lincoln Park because of its music program. To get into this school you have to audition for the music program. You can get in with one of those choices. She just tried for the music program. Sadly, she didn’t get in. To make it worse, she did not apply to other schools because she thought she was going to get in to Lincoln Park.
Kids should not rely on one school because they think it is a cool school. Ivanna learned the hard way because she thought she could get in with her singing. The problem is with the thousands other kids that are trying to get it makes your chances very small. Always remember that it’s safe to have a back up plan. A good one, not just one where you have to pick it, but one that you can say, “Yes, this was my second choice.”
Another fact a student should look into is the size. A person can adjust to the size, but how long will it take to do that? Say a student was at a small grade school before, and is now going to a big school. Who knows if you will make that change or not? Ivanna, for instance, went to a neighborhood school that is equivalent to the size of Lane Tech. She went there after going to a small school, Locke. At this school she did not have anyone and she was unable to get close to the teachers. I’m not saying big schools are bad, but they have to be for you as a student. Ivanna was not this type of student. She needed attention from her teachers.
She got the attention she needed when she came to her second school: Golder. There, her grades improved every year. Freshman year she was at a 0.9 gpa. Now, in her junior year, she has surpassed how she saw herself as a freshman; she has a 3.1 gpa. How was she able to do this? With the change in her environment and the attention she was given, she was able to do better. She also took advantage of the opportunities that were given to her. She did not like where she was at, so she changed to a better school. I hope as you read this you ask yourself, do I get the attention I need? Is this reflected in my grades? Can I do something about it?
Another thing that drives people away from schools is where it is located. Take Harper High school, for example. Last year, twenty-nine students were shot. Twenty-nine students in one school year. That’s a neighborhood school as well. The location is everything. If the school is not in a good location the students will not be able thrive. The environment around students can affect them to act the way they do. If a school is in a high-crime area, then crime will be in school. If there are buildings and local businesses then the school thrives more. It’s all about what’s best for you to grow up and be better than the rest. I’m not trying to take anything away from a neighborhood school, but there are other schools that might be better. You have a choice.
Ivanna went to her neighborhood school. She experienced both lives of picking the right school and the wrong school. At her first school, fights would happen and gang activity and bullying would lurk in the hallway, which affected Ivanna. No one wants to be at a school like that. You don’t have to take that road. School does not have to be about fearing for your life and what is around that corner.
It does not matter if this does not apply to you, because no matter the age, people will have a chance to take another opportunity to make it matter. Don’t ever be the one who blames things for your problems. Make it better and always try to live life for whatever comes your way.
