A successful term at the Kent School District’s iGrad program has drawn more struggling students to the school. iGrad principal Carol Cleveland expects to add more than 200 students to the program in the fall.
The iGrad program, now in its second year, has provided a refuge for students who have either dropped out or otherwise given up on the traditional schooling system. The alternative program provides three options for students. The first is to progress normally through conventional high school classes to achieve a KSD diploma. The other path involves taking equivalency classes to achieve a general Washington state diploma, and the last path allows students to study for a GED test.
Instead of forcing students into the rigid options of the school system, iGrad allows them to take their time and focus on one or two courses.
Cleveland says that instead of being tested comprehensively on everything they know at once, students just need to show her that they’ve mastered concepts they’ve been struggling with.
“We’re not a semester or quarter system,” she says, “we’re on a get your skills, get it done system.”
If students want to pursue a professional career or skill set, they also can take courses through Green River Community College for an associates degree while pursuing their state diploma.
In addition to helping students academically, the program helps them achieve their goals by creating the environment necessary to succeed. Whether it’s finding homeless students foster housing or troubled students counseling, Cleveland provides the resources to get her students the help they need.
The new students have prompted Cleveland to expand the school itself, acquiring a larger building to host lecture classes and adding teachers, counselors and administrators. She recently procured 4,000 additional square feet of space, increasing the number of students she can support from around 400 to 900. During the summer, 275 students attended iGrad, but Cleveland expects those numbers to spike in the fall.
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