The Odessa American newspaper published a lengthy news article about the new Ector County Acceleration Academy in Texas. The article, written by City Editor and education writer Ruth Campbell, began:
“Starting after Thanksgiving, students who were anywhere along the path to getting their high school diploma will have a chance to complete that journey through a partnership with Ector County ISD and Acceleration Academies.
“ ‘We essentially come into a school district and offer an opportunity to kids who have for whatever reasons found frustration in the traditional setting,” Communications Director Jeffrey Good said. “It’s a way to get young people who might otherwise drop away back on track and ready to earn a diploma, go into the military, go on to higher education, go into the workforce with a diploma and a sense of self confidence and some skills that they might not otherwise have had. It’s wonderful to partner with a district like Ector County that really wants to take care of all the young people.”
“President Mark Graves said as part of the partnership agreement with ECISD, they identify all the students who are eligible for the program.
“ECISD has identified a little over 2,000 students who would be eligible for the program. But they expect 250 to 300 students the first year.
“ ‘We’re talking about students from the previous four high school cohorts who have withdrawn, have a withdrawal code, or leaver code as they call them in Texas, and has not met the requirements for a high school diploma. There’s the age component; they have to be a member of the previous four cohorts and they have to have not met those requirements for a high school diploma,” Graves said.”
READ THE FULL STORY on the Odessa American website.
