It’s been a while since I’ve provided an update. We’ve been a bit busy.
We came back from the Christmas break to witness Louisiana State Superintendent Dr. Cade Brumley give a shoutout to GEO Next Generation High School in his monthly call to Louisiana educators. He noted the number of our high school students already taking college courses, earning a full year of college and several of our 2023 grads expected to earn associate degrees. And, its gets even better. He was wearing one of our GEO sweatshirts during his video message to the state. Pretty cool!
The facts are what they are. We have 10% of our inaugural graduating class in Baton Rouge earning a full associate degree while in high school. This is so special. Why? These students are pioneers. They were there when we opened our high school as 9th graders. They did not have banners to look at from previous classes. No trophies. No traditions to follow. They were blazing the path others will follow. And they are. They watched their high school get built and then they populated it. Pretty cool!
In Gary, we have 10% of our students earning associate degrees, too. And that’s just our seniors. We have five 10th graders who will participate in Ivy Tech’s college graduation in May to receive their associate degrees, too. This is on top of the two students we have in “degree-track” programs at IU Northwest and Purdue Northwest earning bachelor’s degrees while in our high school.
And in Indy, we have 16% of our seniors earning full associate degree and 50% earning a full year of college. This, after only three years of being open and most of that time we’ve had Covid to deal with. These students didn’t slow down. They accelerated! Wow!
To put these numbers in perspective, at least in Indiana, only 5% of all high school seniors graduate having earned ONE year of college. That is mostly through AP, IB and/or dual credit high school courses. We have 10%, 10% and 16% earning TWO years of college. And we have more than 40% (network wide) earning a full year of college and/or a career certification. That is EIGHT times the state average.
What’s the GEO difference? We focus on our students. We invest in them individually. We support each student in reaching their highest potential. We don’t just talk about the importance of college and career certifications. We place our students in real college and real career certifications programs. They see that we believe in them. They respond accordingly.
Above is a picture of our Baton Rouge students being welcomed to Baton Rouge Community College by Chancellor Willie Smith. Below left is a picture of some of our Indy students on the Ivy Tech campus downtown and to the right are college and career students from our Gary school.
If you like what you read from me, consider joining us in a meaningful way. Share our story with others who might be able to help us help others. Make a contribution or help us reach others who could. Do you know MacKenzie Scott (Bezos)? Bill Gates? Oprah Winfrey? Robert Smith? Aliko Dangote? Rihanna? Tiger? Michael Jordan? Others? Just kidding. Ok, not really. I really want to meet these folks. I remember when I lived in California it seemed like there was a millionaire/billionaire on every corner. Not so in Indiana and Louisiana. Invite us to start a school in your neck of the woods. You will be glad you did.
Sincerely,
Kevin Teasley
Founder & President
GEO Foundation
