The teachers and administrative staff at Hedges Campus Alternative School for Mansfield City Schools recognized academic achievement in their students through their first-ever awards ceremony. On Friday, Nov. 7, nine students received awards for their outstanding achievement.
In March, Hedges Campus Mansfield Integrated Learning Center (MILC) underwent legal scrutiny and the district placed four of its teachers and its principal on paid administrative leave on the basis of “alleged failure to follow Mansfield City Schools policy,” as stated by Superintendent Brian Garverick.
This year’s fall term, therefore, marked Hedges Campus’ first under the new name. The school currently has 54 students, with teachers for social studies, science, math and language arts.
Students admitted to Hedges Campus they undergo a referral process. According to Principal Jason Douglas, students’ needs continue to include the following root causes: difficulty functioning in a traditional school setting; minimal family and community involvement; highly dysfunctional domestic situations; teenage pregnancy; high mobility rate; high incidence of juvenile crime; and inaccessibility to 21st century technology required for college and career readiness.
Douglas said the idea to hold a First Quarter Awards Assembly came from the school’s student council group.
“They came to me with this idea and I basically said, ‘Have at it!’” he said. “So we just want to thank the members of Student Council for all their hard work,” added Douglas.
Four different awards were given: Subject Award, Student of the Month, Citizenship Award, and the Merit Roll for students who received a 3.0 through 3.49 GPA during the first nine weeks of the grading period.
The teacher for each subject chose the student they thought deserved recognition. Among Subject Award winners were Gage Baretta, Tyrese Canada, Julian Frank, and Edward Morton.
Four students were chosen for Student of the Month, which included September and October with a boy and girl for each month: Cierra Hoskins and Kane Parence for September, Montashia Taylor and Johnathon Perkins for October.
The Citizenship Award was presented by social studies teacher Todd Hoovler. The award went to Johnathan Willis.
“Johnathan has really improved since being here and we’re glad to reward him with this recognition,” said Hoovler.
Cierra Hoskins and Edward Morton were placed on Merit Roll for achieving a GPA between 3.0 and 3.49.
Superintendent Brian Garverick was also in attendance during the awards ceremony.
“Education never stops. The better your foundation is now, the more opportunities you’ll have in the future. Again, just remember that education doesn’t stop after you get out of high school,” said Garverick as he addressed the students.
In an interview before the ceremony, Douglas said the youth in Hedges Campus face a lot of adversity.
“We want to create a safe environment that encourages and helps these kids get back in school. We want to ready them to get back [to Mansfield Senior High or Mansfield Middle School]. These guys deal with a lot. Their behavior is not like other students because they hate school; they face a lot of adversity,” said Douglas.
“It’s been hard work getting this going this year. But, as the principal, it’s been so rewarding,” he added.
He said Hedges Campus will continue to hold awards ceremonies after each nine-week grading period to encourage academic excellence.
