Brenda Parham began attending the public charter school Life Skills when she realized she wasn’t going to graduate high school on time.

“It was a struggle, but it was for a good cause,” Parham said. “Life Skills changed my life and made me a better person.”

Life Skills allows high school students ages 16-21 who have dropped out or are in danger of dropping out to complete their graduation requirements in an alternate setting. By using a computer-based online system, the work is broken down into self-paced sessions that require a daily attendance of four hours. The center’s flexible schedule allows students to balance their jobs, families and children.

The Life Skills Center of Toledo celebrated its 16th graduating class June 18 at UT’s Nitschke Auditorium.

Parham, recipient of the President’s Award for Academic Achievement, shared her story as the class speaker at the ceremony.

Graduate Tevin Beverly, 19, said he is another Life Skills success story.

Life Skills Center graduates

“I got in some trouble my junior year … my mom and I got in a big fight and I was forced to leave the house and I almost dropped out,” Beverly said.

Beverly did what he had to do: He got a job at Rally’s. He got his own place. But school quickly became a burden.

“Once I started working I knew it wasn’t going to work out working and going to school,” Beverly said.

After hearing about Life Skills from a friend, he made the decision to get his diploma. One year later, Beverly was able to say that graduation day was “the best day of my life.”

During the part of the graduation ceremony where students showed their gratitude to friends and family for their support by presenting flowers, Beverly gave his to his mother.

“I kind of learned my responsibilities and stuff and now we get along better,” Beverly said of his relationship with his mom. “I think I’ve matured more.”

North Carolina Central University in Durham, N.C. is the next stop for Beverly, where he plans to pursue a career in dentistry.

Beverly’s peers have similar stories. Kenneth Collins, 21, admitted he started to slip while he was at Rogers High School. James Rose IV, also 21, had similar problems at Libbey. Both now want to attend Owens Community College. Collins will seek a degree in landscape management and Rose will pursue a degree in commercial art.

“I would say about 70 to75 percent of students think about college or some kind of trade,” Administrator Jon Marie Morris said. “Those numbers are growing, particularly because of the different kinds of institutions that are coming to Toledo and are drawing the attention of students.”

Life Skills’ staff of 16 includes a licensed social worker to help students balance family issues affecting their education, as well as a vocational specialist that leads students on a job hunt. The center averages 200 students and hosts two graduations every year. While graduating class sizes range from 15-21 students, they have been as large as 61. This year has the smallest class on record.

“Everyone is blended in the same classroom,” Morris said, explaining how students work at their own pace and don’t have to keep up with the teacher or other students. “We’ve had grads do their entire high school career in less time: two years.”

The Toledo branch of Life Skills was founded in November 2002. Nationally, there are 36 locations throughout Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Michigan and Ohio.

Tags: Life Skills Center

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 24th, 2010 at 3:27 pm and is filed under Community, Education, Uncategorized.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.