The Booster Redux November 2016

riding the airwaves

The Booster Redux Pittsburg High School 1978 E. 4th Street Pittsburg, KS 66762 Vol. 99, Issue 4 www.boosterredux.com

Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016 students practice BMX staff editorial: bike skills at Pittsburg High School’s Mission Statement: “Every student at Pittsburg High School will local park graduate ready to be successful in postsecondary education, the workforce and life skills.”

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journalism wins awards students bring home national awards Page 2D

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n the wall of the commons area hangs a plaque of the mission statement which reminds students and staff of the purpose of receiving an education at PHS. Discussion in the newsroom led to staff members, many of whom were seniors, expressing discontent with the education and preparation for college they had received. Many students did not feel challenged in their courses and others articulated a need for more information on postsecondary opportunities.

Upon further examination, we as a staff felt the need to assess our school’s success at meeting this promise. Becausae of this, we dedicated all content on pages 3-6 to investigate the academic environment at PHS. By talking to students, alumni, community members, educators and administrators, we featured various perspectives on the high school’s

rigor of courses and the outcomes of students after high school.

We found that students generally felt underprepared for life after high school due to a lack of exposure.

While we do not think PHS is the only school that After examining the various views expressed, the staff offers solutions to some of the issues that we believe exist in our education system.

We hope to start a conversation with all vested stakeholders regarding the current academic structure in order to provide a better understanding of the concerns.

We propose that teachers are given more feedback regarding their classroom instruction and that their testing results are monitored by the administration. We suggest a continued focus on the basics of college and career readi-

ness as well as the coursework students receive will prepare them for postsecondary education.

However, the staff acknowledges that student apathy and indifference also shape the learning atmosphere at PHS. Some students choose not to be attentive in class or even attend classes regularly, let alone enroll in rigorous courses.

We believe these issues are also the responsibility of the students and their families, not just the high school faculty and administration.

We recognize the success of the students at PHS is a collaborative effort between the student body and the faculty. When creating this issue, we hoped that the variety of views expressed throughout our coverage would offer different viewpoints and would change the way the quality of our education is evaluated.

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ATHLETES SIGN LETTERS OF INTENT JORDEN JOHNSON

@PHSStudentPub

On Nov. 9, four seniors signed letters of intent to play at the collegiate level. These athletes represented three different sports: volleyball, wrestling and baseball.

Jake Webb

Jake Webb signed with Kansas State University in Manhattan to continue his baseball career.

After nearly a year of consideration, Webb selected K-State for its baseball facility.

“I wasn’t always a big fan of K-State as a school,” Webb said. “Because of baseball, I just fell in love with it.”

He is not only looking forward to playing for K-State, but also increasing his overall skills.

“I’m really excited about the next level and getting out there to better my skills and myself as a person,” Webb said. “I am [more] excited [than] nervous and I feel [ready] to see the jump in competition.”

Kayne Hutchison

what’s the score? a look at standardized test scores Page 7D

Kanye Hutchison signed with the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado to wrestle.

The opportunity presented post-college service.

“I started looking at them last year but, even sophomore year, I wanted to go to an academy because I would get to serve,” Hutchison said.

“When they contacted me [expressing] interest in me wrestling for them, it seemed like a perfect fit [because] it’s a Division I wrestling school.”

The level of competition appeals to Hutchison.

“I’m excited. [There is a lot] of good wrestling up there,” Hutchison said. “High school can be a little hit-or-miss on your competition, but at the college level everyone is good.”

Hutchison believes he is ready to take on any challenge.

“I just love wrestling in good matches,” Hutchison said. “[I’m] always shooting for the national titles.”

Dylan Prince

Dylan Prince signed with the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) in Edmond to advance his wrestling skills.

Prince chose UCO thinking it was an appropriate fit for his skills.

“It was a good set-up for me,” Prince said.

“I’m really excited to be able to continue competting while at UCO.” He feels prepared for the next phase of his life.

“It feels great,” Prince said. “I worked hard

Jake Webb, Kayne Hutchison, Dylan Prince and Taylor Muff siign letters of intent. PHOTOS BY ISAAC LEVERENZ, MORGAN NOE, OLIVIA REDD AND SHANNON O’HARA

and I’m ready for anything that comes my way.”

Prince is satisfied with all the time he has committed to get to this level.

“I’m really excited [because of] all the hard work I put in for it, plus all the skills [I learned],” Prince said.

“I plan to [use my abilities to] win a national title.”

Taylor Muff

Taylor Muff signed to play volleyball at the University of Northern Colorado (UNCO) in Greeley.

“I really like the coach there,” Muff said. “She told me what she wanted from me, and I really appreciated it.”

Muff looks forward to moving on to the next level.

“I’m excited about it because it is faster and a lot more intense,” Muff said. “I’m nervous because I’ll be so far away from home, but I’m really excited to be part of the program.”

Muff has been interested in UNCO since she was in ninth grade.

As an upcoming collegiate athlete, Muff is eager for the future. “[I’m looking forward] to the speed of the game,” Muff said. “I’m ready to play with really great athletes who will back me up.”

Teams donate to angels among us MEGHAN BAKER

Q/A with Superintendent destry brown Page 6D

CLASSROOM RIGOR in-depth examination of academics in PHS Page 3D

@meghanbaker11 As he coaches the girls basketball team during the pink out game, head coach Eric Flaton will think about his mom.

“My mom had breast cancer. It’s very common, but it’s very beatable if you have the funding to catch it early,” Flaton said. “My mom has been a survivor for ten years.”

Flaton is not the only one who remembers someone during pink out.

Freshman basketball player Kaydn Matlock wears pink for freshman Ethan Weidert.

“With Ethan being in my grade and being one of my friends, it made me truly start to realize how life can change in an instant and how serious things can be,” Matlock said.

“Horrible things can happen to great people, and I thought it was awesome how much support Ethan [received] through his time.”

Head golf coach Mary Packard remembers her friend and some family members.

“I think of my friend Erin. She had a double mastectomy when we went to college together,” Packard said. “My grandma and my aunt both had breast cancer. It’s an endless list of people. It’s just trying to remember those and trying to help those who need it right now.”

Along with Packard, senior volleyball player Lauren Hurt wears pink for her grandma and aunt.

“I wear pink because my grandma passed away from breast cancer June 7, 2007 and my aunt Jennifer recently got diagnosed with breast cancer,” Hurt said. “Both my aunt and grandma have affected my life by showing me

Senior athletes present Diana Polston from Angels Among Us with a donation check comprised of proceeds from each sport’s annual Pink Out fundraising events. PHOTOS BY KAITLYN KIDD

how to be strong even when things aren’t going the way probably expected to.”

According to Packard, “pink out” games started six years ago.

“Back when I was a volleyball coach, it’s just a thing the volleyball team started to do. It is an event that is okayed by KSHSAA for us to do,” Packard said. “It was a good opportunity to get people to come and watch the volleyball game because the volleyball team usually has about two to three home games a year.”

This year $1,100 was raised by the volleyball team, according to head coach Megan Mantooth. The money was donated to Angels Among Us. This local charity has helped local cancer patients since 2000.

For the basketball teams, they are doing something different this year. The team is participating in the Coaches vs. Cancer program three-point challenge.

For every three pointer that is made, a donation is made to a cancer research foundation.

“All the SEK teams are in this challenge. We have two men’s basketball coaches whose wives have gotten breast cancer, so they started this,” Flaton said. “Every week we have to send our threepoint total in. There will be a week where we will specifically compete against Fort Scott, so it will be cool if we get everyone to participate or donate and, hopefully, we can beat Fort Scott at raising money for a great cause.”

Matlock believes giving back is an important component in showing the community that the school cares.

“It shows the amount of support that, not only our team, but our school has for cancer survivors and nonsurvivors,” Matlock said. “Even the little things such as wearing pink bring honor to those people.”

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Are students challenged?

Graduates Talk Back Were you prepared for life after high school?

Maggie Stephens

2007

There were certain classes that prepared me for college and even graduate school, specifically Kathleen Owsley’s English AP and Shakespeare courses. I was fairly involved in high school and I believe that was a tremendous help in preparing for school.

My activities and schoolwork taught me a lot about time management and organization, which is very important during college.

Hannah Hashman Burns

2010 I started as a vocal music major and the vocal music program at PHS is fantastic. I felt prepared in other academic areas also. The only thing I would have wanted more of was technology classes.

Taylor Quick

2012

For the most part, yes. A lot of the stuff I covered in college seemed to be covered when I was in high school at some point.

It was just getting into some of it more in college. The counselors when I was there were great about helping everyone with their resumes and everything for college.

Caden Yantis

2014

Most of high school, finals were not required until my senior year when they became a requirement. Finals are a huge part of college so when I started college, it took me a while to adjust to taking finals and studying. However, a lot of PHS classes that I took were very challenging and helped me strive to improve how I study and how to write college papers.

Roylan Rountree-Garcia

2008

The teachers and faculty made a strong effort to prepare me for college but I had to exert the effort on my own to fully prepare.

I always knew I would be going to Pitt State, so I didn’t take the whole college prep too seriously. Looking back, I should have listened when everyone else was applying for scholarships and doing campus visits.

Michael Giffin

2011

I feel like PHS prepared me for the college that I attended (Pitt State), however I think that at higher caliber institutions the education would have been lacking. This is mostly because I don’t think PHS (or many school systems) teach critical thinking and practical problem solving well enough and focus more on solving for X.

Infinity Butcher

2013 Teachers would be the main people I think of that assisted in any way. They’re tough on deadlines and could care less about your other classes and work loads.

Trisha Kelley

2014 I don’t feel like Pittsburg prepared students for college at all. Simply because the school is more focused on the athletics and not the academics. Some of the counselors were very helpful when preparing students for college.

NICOLE KONOPELKO

While students in Willis’s regular class are exposed to higher level concepts, they are not Test-taking, lecturing and completing home- assessed over them.

“Just to add to the rigor, regular students still work are considered the key components of a see challenging questions in their homework public school class.

However, in each of those components, there and their notes,” Willis said. “However, I’m not is a driving force. A force pushing students out- going to test them on it, because that would be side of their comfort zone. A force that empha- an [AMS] standard for higher-level students.”

In Willis’s advanced classes, students are sizes and integrates the best of a student’s potential. A force that not only gets a student expected to master the AMS higher-level topto break the barriers and think critically, but ics. According to Willis, this increases chalalso seeks to uncover his or her strengths and lenge and rigor.

“Because they are advanced, students have weaknesses.

This force is none other than rigor, also to be prepared to assess [each] topic [covered] in the lesson,” Willis said. “That in itself is referred to as challenge.

“Rigor is a priority of every [teacher],” challenge.”

However, with every different subject comes English teacher Linda Barberich said.

Teachers have different outlooks on what a different style of rigor.

In Barberich’s honors English classes, rigor is truly establishes rigor. For some, an abundance of homework accounts for it. For others, rigor incorporated through an addition of texts and is critical thinking and reading. And for some, advanced research projects.

“Honors English covers everything taught rigor is found in deep classroom discussions in regular English, but we read an additional and debates.

However, regardless of the different methods book,” Barberich said. “More research projects of establishing rigor, one thing is certain: rigor and essay writing is added [in order to] enrich.”

To challenge her students, Barberich inteis a rewarding and driving force continuously grates students’ personal interests in lessons. pushing students to succeed.

“I look at individual strengths when I am cre“We need to have high expectations of students,” Barberich said. “The more we expect ating a lesson,” Barberich said. “Somebody is of students, the more we are going to get out artistic, somebody is more interested in music of them. When you push somebody to find just [and] somebody has interests in other areas. If what he or she can accomplish, it is oftentimes I can find a project that they can incorporate even celebratory. When you are successful in [their] strengths in what we are [learning], that would be a personal challenge that [my sturigor, you are building self-confidence.” dents] would be more interested in.”

Rigor does not stand In order to make alone. It has a driving sure they are chalstrength of its own — lenging their stuteachers. dents, teachers use “Teachers pass on different methods things that [students] are of organization. going to take with them Science teachfor the rest of their lives,” er Mary Packard assistant principal Kelynn believes test taking Heardt said. “Things like is key to rigor and rigor exist because a challenge. Because teacher had an idea and of this, her students said, ‘Why not?’” are required to keep ATeacher’s Perspective track of their test Standing in the middle scores on a piece of of her classroom, math paper. teacher Rhonda Willis “You can do a teaches a new lesson to whole bunch of her students. worksheets using However, to her, it is [textbooks],” more than another new Packard said. “But -RHONDA WILLIS lesson. It is the final the question is, ‘Do product of hours spent you really know the behind her desk, determaterial?’ [Because mining how to construct of this], I use a test sheet so that the students her lesson in the best way possible — not for can see their individual grades on each unit. her, but for her students.

“I feel like I never stop working,” Willis That way, students will challenge themselves said. “Everything that I plan is truly what’s in to improve.”

Regardless of teachers’ accommodations, the best interest of my students. At the end of the day, that makes me the best teacher that I apathy is always a concern in all types of learners. can be.”

“There’s so many [students] who don’t Not only does Willis have expectations for herself, but she also has expectations for her care about doing their work,” Giffin said. “It doesn’t occur just in my classes and it doesn’t students.

“Challenging my students is one of my pri- occur just in our school. I don’t know what to orities as a teacher,” Willis said. “Rigor comes [attribute] it to.”

According to Willis, a student must also with my class, but it is also the students’ take responsibility and make schoolwork a top responsibility to step up to that rigor and chalpriority. lenge themselves.”

“A student must always finish their work and Along with being one of Willis’s top teaching priorities, rigor is a significant component step up to the plate [of challenge],” Willis said.

Nevertheless, teachers make yearly revisions of her class. to their classes.

Willis incorporates rigor into each of her les“Every year, I make changes to my class,” son plans in a multitude of ways.

In order to properly integrate rigor in her Barberich said. “This year, [for example], I advanced level classes, Willis first looks to added more essay writing.”

Not only do teachers make revisions, but they the Kansas state guidelines — the Advanced Mathematics Standards (AMS), which are adapt for diverse groups of students. Schultze a part of the Kansas College and Career believes it is complex to find a “middle balance” of rigor in regular classes.

Readiness Standards (KCCRS). “[In a regular class], you’re going to have According to Willis, the AMS were created for higher-level students planning to continue students from every ability and level in that taking advanced classes throughout the entire- class,” Schultze said. “I have students who are just learning English, [students] who read at a ty of high school and college.

“I stick very close to the [AMS] when I cre- low reading level and students who read at an ate lesson plans for my honors and advanced above-college level.”

However, the search for rigor is far from students,” Willis said. over.

While Willis does not use AMS when creat“We are not completely satisfied,” Packard ing lessons for her regular math classes, she said.

“We are still pushing that envelope for utilizes the KCCRS — the standards all stuour classes.” dents, regardless of comprehension levels, are A Special Education Student’s Perspective required to learn.

In some cases, teachers hold the key to But regardless of the differences in the AMS and KCCS, Willis said students learning by transforming the course of a student’s entire either set of standards will receive a rigorous learning career.

Senior Jordan Williams had lost all of her education.

“Even if you are taking a regular math motivation and efforts before high school.

Williams requested to remain anonymous class, you’re still taking a college [preparatory] class,” Willis said. “You will still have a chal- due to the sensitivity and privacy of the subject.

“When Mrs. Newberry and I first met, I lenging and rigorous education.”

While she does prioritize them, social science didn’t have a care in the world,” Williams said. teacher Marjorie Giffin believes the KCCRS are “I never read my books and I certainly didn’t do my homework.” nothing new to many teachers.

However, a “new light” soon came into “To me, a good teacher is already [incorporating] KCCRS, regardless of whether they perspective as a result of Newberry’s efforts. have a list of standards in front of them or not,” “[Newberry] has made me realize if I don’t do [my schoolwork], [I’m] not going to have a Giffin said.

According to Willis, the main difference good future. She has helped me keep track of between her honors and regular classes is the my grades, my work and provided [emotional support]. She’s always there for me when I assessment of higher-level concepts. @nicolekonopelko

“

challenging my students is one of my top priorities as a teacher. rigor comes with my class, but it is also the student’s responsibility to step up to the challenge

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in-depth Coverage

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The role of rigor in the classroom and what teachers, students think is challenging need her,” Williams said.

In order to better comprehend new information, she prefers a slow pace in her classes.

Because of her Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), remembering details is a challenge for Williams.

“If a teacher just writes something on the board, I’m not going to understand it. I need details,” Williams said. “[Not having] that slow pace in my classes would [overall] stress me out.”

For Williams, school has always been a challenge, even at a slow pace.

“Certain things come hard to me,” Williams said. “Math, [for example], is a class that I’ve been struggling with all throughout high school.”

Whereas most of her peers put effort in studying outside of class, Williams often does not see the purpose of this.

“Sometimes I don’t even understand the [content] and it’s too hard,” Williams said. “So what’s the point in doing it?”

If content is too rigorous, Williams will fall behind.

“If I feel so challenged to the point that I can’t do something, I’m just not going to do it,” Williams said.

In many instances, Williams cannot keep up with the pace of a class.

“I have assignments piling up on each other.

I don’t have enough time to finish them all and get them done when they need to be done,” Williams said.

Giffin understands the needs of students such as Williams. Because of this, she makes accommodations for her struggling students.

“I look at what we should do for certain [students] and how we should make it so that this student can [comprehend] the information,” Giffin said. “I don’t necessarily change my lesson plans, but I singly make sure to do whatever I need to do to meet the needs of those students.”

With Newberry’s support, Williams has found motivation.

“I think about what I want to do after school.

I tell myself, ‘if you don’t do what you have to do right now, you’re not going to be where you want to be in the next few years,’” Williams said. “I think about that every single day [because] I know that if I don’t do the work, I won’t get the single most important outcome that I want.”

A Regular Student’s Perspective

For some students, the desire for rigor has never been stronger.

Sophomore Serenity Logan is concerned about the pace of her classes.

“I’m not really being challenged in my classes because I feel like I’m repeating concepts that I already know,” Logan said. “I want to [learn] at a faster pace.”

Although Logan feels the need for a faster pace, there is one thing keeping her from enrolling in an advanced class — fear.

Fear is a hurdle faced by numerous students such as Logan.

“Taking honors classes may be too much for me, as a student,” Logan said. “The [potential] stress I could have from honors classes just scares me and turns me off.”

While freshman Nate Shriver shares the sentiments of Logan, he chooses not to take specific honors classes due to his lack of confidence in certain subject areas.

“Last year I had trouble in math, so I felt that this year I should take it easy in math and learn at a slower pace [by taking the regular -SERENITY class],” Shriver said.

This slower pace, however, is now a barrier in Shriver’s learning.

“I just wish we could move faster in my classes,” Shriver said. “Most students [in regular classes] do not put in a lot of effort, and that holds me back from actually gaining more knowledge and learning [new skills].”

Regular classes, such as the ones Logan takes, are designed to run at a slower rate.

For example, in Schultze’s regular English 10 class, an entire month is devoted to one research paper.

“We are literally going to spend a month on a research paper and [students] can get it all done in class,” Schultze said. “I am [taking] them through it step by step. If they meet the deadlines and if they do what they are supposed to do, they can [complete it all] in class.”

In contrast, when Barberich assigns a project to her Honors English 9 class, there will be minimal class time given to complete it.

“We might have some class time, but [overall], it will be something that you are finishing on your own, [outside of class],” Barberich said.

“

Although sophomore Jorge Leyva agrees with Shriver’s thoughts on slow pacing, he said his elective classes make up for it. For example, Leyva feels this push in his drawing class.

“Even though I do not feel a [fast pace] in regular classes, I do in my drawing class,” Leyva said. “My [art] teacher puts a lot of emphasis on skills and details. Following those details is a challenge for me.”

But regardless of their inclinations, many average students face a common outlook — their regular classes lack the challenge that they desire and hunger for.

An Honors Student’s Perspective

For some students, such as sophomore Devin McAfee, “busy work” takes away from rigor. “[I] get a lot of busy work,” McAfee said.

“I don’t mind it, but I see that it really has no purpose.”

Willis understands McAfee’s concerns and also accredits a lack of rigor in some classes due to an increase in busy work. However, she has a method for limiting it.

“I have experienced that a lot of our advanced students feel that the [amount] of busy work they do does not really make them think, so when I make an assignment, I am not going to give [students] ten problems of the same type,” Willis said. “I’ll pick out a couple that are similar; enough for them to understand the concept.”

Moreover, McAfee believes integration of specific content could potentially be improved.

“I think content may not be taught as well [as other areas],” McAfee said. “If you look at the test scores in this area, they are just subpar.

I think the school needs to look at what other schools are doing and try to formulate a basis off of that.”

Sophomore Andrew Riachi agrees with McAfee because he too receives busy work.

However, he feels rigor specifically when he learns new concepts.

“I feel challenge in bursts,” Riachi said.

“When a brand new concept is introduced, I feel challenged. A lot of the times I feel like I’m learning the same things over and over [again], but when something new comes along, I am challenged.”

For example, Riachi feels rigor when his English teacher introduces new writing skills.

“It’s a challenge for me to use writing skills that I know of but haven’t necessarily had lots of experience applying,” Riachi said.

Riachi feels challenge in specific departments.

“Sometimes I am challenged and sometimes I’m not,” Riachi said. “It just depends on the class and what we’re doing at the time. I do feel that certain [subject areas] need more challenge, specifically science.”

Students taking on the challenge of honors classes, such as freshman Jordan Akins, feel a significant amount of rigor.

“In middle school, it was different because it was all just easier and everyone in the advanced class felt ahead, but now that I’m in high school it’s a different environment,” Akins said. “The teaching environment is different and now we all feel that it is hard to keep up with the pace.”

Many students such as junior Evie Shawn take more than one Advanced Placement (AP) or honors class.

Shawn struggles with the amount of homework she receives due to her involvement in multiple AP classes.

“Sometimes I feel that teachers forget most of us are taking more than one AP class,” Shawn said.

LOGAN “It’s hard to keep up with the homework for all of those [difficult] classes.”

However, according to Giffin, this load of homework is not necessarily bad. She said a large load of homework prepares students for life outside of high school.

“You’re only going to get busier,” Giffin said. “Your one instructor in college that gave you three books to read isn’t going to care that you have three other books to read in another class.”

A portion of the rigor felt by Riachi, however, does not solely come from school.

In an attempt to learn new skills, Riachi challenges himself outside of the classroom.

“Computer programming and playing musical instruments pushes me outside of class,” Riachi said.

Schultze has seen this recurring trend amongst her advanced students — their drive and motivation has pushed them to pursue other challenges and interests beyond the classroom.

“It’s their own personal desire or will to succeed that is continuously driving my students,” Schultze said.

i’m not being challenged in my classes because i feel like i’m repeating concepts i already know. i want to learn them at a faster pace.

”

Graduates Talk Back

Were you prepared for life after high school?

Miles Crowley

2009 I don’t feel like the administration did a great job of getting me ready, however the teachers and counselors did. Making sure that you have resources to ask questions and help you find out about applying to college and the curriculum is important.

Richard Willhite

2009 PHS had a diverse team of teachers and counselors who seemed invested in helping prepare my class for the Collegiate level, especially Rhonda White (Counselor when I was in school).

Zach Baden

2012 I don’t feel like there was an inherent major gap in college-readiness between me and students who came from big suburban high schools or private schools. Where I’ve seen PHS grads fail is a lack of organization and motivation to stay on top of the coursework.

Katie Phalen

2014

Something that I’m glad the administration did while I was at PHS was change the finals policy so that everyone had to take them. Finals week is very important in college and can be pretty stressful, so learning how to take cumulative finals was a really important skill to have.

Maddie Weirdert

2016

The dual credit courses really helped me a lot. Especially Mrs. [Melissa Fite] Johnson’s advanced comp class.

Offering the dual credit classes really allows you to have a leg up in college. Especially if you travel to campus during your senior year to take classes. The meetings we have every semester about enrolling has helped me a lot.

Morgan Rhue

2012 My counselor was very helpful in making sure I had all my requirements down for Pitt [State] but other than that, I kind of did it on my own. I wish I would have known and been pushed more to find and apply for scholarships.

Michael Neatherlin

2013

When I was in school, the high school really didn’t offer a lot of things to prepare for college. Some of the counselors helped with applications and college tours.

Carmen Perez

2015 I believe PHS did an adequate job in preparing me for college. I don’t really know how administration helped. I’d say they’ve provided teachers that care about our education. College is supposed to be fun, don’t stress so much and just make the best of it.

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finding funds for the future Students reflect on financial aid, scholarship process for college madison nagel @maddiebagel any students find applying for scholarships and financial aid to be confusing.

Counselor Gina Ulbrich reminds students how to stay on top of things throughout this process.

“If students keep an eye on the www.usd250.org/ scholarships link and keep in touch with the financial aid office of the college they plan on attending, they will have a multitude of opportunities for scholarships and to receive help with the financial aid process,” Ulbrich said.

Senior Conner Lehman feels that students are not given enough aid in preparing for adulthood.

“I don’t think PHS really focuses that much about telling you how to make college more affordable once you graduate.

They kind of just want to give you a diploma and send you on your way,” Lehman said. “I wouldn’t say that PHS doesn’t care about helping you make this process easier and more affordable, but they just don’t quite do that much to help with it.”

Senior Coral VanBecelaere believes that she must be held accountable for information regarding scholarships — not PHS. “It isn’t [the school’s] job to inform me of every scholarship and financial aid option available to me,” VanBecelaere said. “I have a spreadsheet that contains all of the scholarships I have applied for or will apply for and all of the information regarding those scholarships that I need.

It has due dates, requirements, money rewarded, and if it is renewable.”

Ulbrich notices that several components of a scholarship application, other than GPA and ACT scores, can make it stand out among others.

“People love seeing community service, work experience [and] kids taking challenging courses.

Sometimes GPA and ACT [scores] stand out, but lots of scholarships have minimum requirements,” Ulbrich said. ”To apply [for financial aid], you [must] have [a certain] GPA and ACT [score], so those are not the things that stand out on an application because the [selection committee] knows every application is going to have those minimum requirements met. They want to see kids who rise above.”

VanBecelaere feels she should be involved when searching for her scholarships.

“If I need help paying for my college education, I have to be proactive in finding the assistance I need. Once we are out of high school, we aren’t just going to be handed scholarship and grant opportunities without first going in search of them,” VanBecelaere said. “We have to be willing to take our future into our hands and be [in control of] it.”

Though scholarships may appear to be real, Ulbrich warns not all are genuine.

“You should not have to pay for a scholarship. If you have to pay to apply for a scholarship, ask somebody, because chances are it is not legit. Same goes with financial aid; if you have to pay to get help applying for financial aid, it is typically not legit,” Ulbrich said. “If you’re looking for help, [the counselors] can help you, or the financial aid representatives at your college can help you for free. If you have to pay for money, that’s a red flag.”

M

GRAPHIC BY TRINA PAUL INFO COMPILED FROM US NEWS HIGH SCHOOL RANKINGS

mapping a different path A look at three different routes to take after graduation info compiled by maddie baden @maddiebaden

Community College

• Receives an associate’s degree, which is often the highest level of a degree that can be obtained at a community college • Typically offers smaller class sizes • On average, the tuition per year is $3,131 • Students do not need to know what they want to go into right after high school they can explore the possibilities • Community Colleges in KS: Fort Scott Community College Labette Community College Hutchinson Community College

four year college

• Receives a bachelor’s degree in the arts or sciences • More opportunities to get involved • Offers classes that go deeper into your career choice • More career options

trade school

• Receives a certificate but not a degree

• For students who know what they want to pursue post high school • Teaches skills that are related to a specific job • Can finish training in two years • On average, the tuition per year is $16,500

• On average, the tuition per year for a public school is $17,680

• Typically has smaller class sizes

• Offers more challenging courses

• Offers more hands-on training

• Colleges in KS: Pittsburg State University University of Kansas Kansas State University

• Trade Schools in KS: Kansas City Art Institute Washburn Institute of Technology

SECTION D

in-depth coverage

Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016

q/A with

Superintendent destry brown on College, Career Preparation interview compiled by gina mathew @gmmathew13 Do you feel PHS adequately prepares students for life after high school?

The mission statement says we want kids to be successful when they leave PHS whether they go to college or into a career. To me, that means we need to help every kid think through their options. What do they want to do when they graduate, what are their interests, those kinds of things. Then, we can tailor schedules and class offerings to fit. We’re not there yet, I don’t think, but we’re getting closer.

You mentioned we’re making progress. How so?

Every year, it seems like we expand a little more in offerings for students.

When I came here eight years ago, we didn’t have but one college credit class and we weren’t very successful with our AP classes. We had too many kids going off to college and quitting. That was one thing I wanted to change. Now we offer many dual-credit courses. We’re also doing better at getting kids to take the AP tests and score a three or above.

What steps are taken to measure a student’s success in the classroom?

After [the district] gets the AP results every year, we then look at what we need to do differently. Some teachers have changed because we felt a different skillset might lend itself better to that [class]. [We send] the teachers to training so they understand what AP is really all about. This really helped prepare students for the tests. Sending the teachers to training so that they understand what the AP is really all about really helped a lot in getting students, preparing them to be ready for that test. That test is hard. As far as the college credit courses, we look at it the same way. If we don’t have kids getting at least an A or B in those dual-credit classes, then we need to do some changing.

Are there any major changes being proposed to the current education system?

In December, a [school] in New York is actually coming to Kansas to talk to some schools about summer academies. Those academies would be about preparing for college [and] careers. We don’t do anything like that right now.

We’re just starting to scratch the surface. I also have a group of teachers called the Success Council who are going to meet in December and start talking about changes to graduation requirements.

Why do you feel the need to revise graduation requirements?

I don’t believe that graduating with a high school diploma, and just having a diploma, gets you very much anymore. I think it takes more than that. What I’d like to do is expand that to be more of a diploma-plus.

What would that look like?

When you graduate from PHS, we’re going to guarantee that you not only have a high school diploma, but you also have one or more of these things: 12 to 15 hours of college credit, a skills certificate or community service. With that, I also want them to develop soft skills, such as perseverance, timeliness and dependability.

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Are students adequately informed of college opportunities?

I don’t think a lot of students have any idea what [the differences in postsecondary institutions] are. [They think], “We’re in Pittsburg, so I’m going to go to Pitt State.” I would like to make that decision more informed. I want them to go where it matches best for what they want to do. We don’t have that in place yet, not at the level it needs to be. Our counselors do a good job of trying to get kids in places so they can get scholarships, but we’re not doing a good job of getting the college and career exploration piece in place like I [want] it to be. We just don’t have people trained to help students get into those systems and start doing the explorations.

How could we still expose kids to these opportunities?

What I wanted to do in the beginning was have every student visit two kinds of colleges each year. Somehow, we would make that work through the school system because some kids can’t take those trips [on their own]. We’re just trying to figure out how to get that added in a way that works well for kids and for my budget, but it’s still something I want to see happen.

What are the main concerns college-bound students have expressed?

Kids who go to college tell me they’re shellshocked. Yes, it is harder. It should be harder, but we need to do some things to prepare [students] for that. Letting them have a semester their senior year where they’re not doing much doesn’t prepare them for college. We need to keep students engaged longer in the learning process, they will be more successful that way.

What’s the purpose behind all these changes?

I just think it makes sense and communicates that we have high expectations of our kids, which I think we should. Knowing that we live in a community where there’s a high level of poverty, we can’t change that unless we change the skill level [and] education of our kids. The long view of it [is] I hope it makes [Pittsburg] a better community, but right now, I just want our kids to say “I was ready for college or that job because of what I learned here’ when they leave.

It is the student’s responsibility to prepare themselves by selecting the program of classes to be successful at their next level.

-MONICA COLLINS (ART)

PHS offers many ways for students to prepare for post secondary education. Many classes prepare for college.

If students put in the effort to learn, then they have the tools to be prepared.

-STUART PEREZ (SCIENCE)

What would some of these changes look like when applied to the curriculum?

It would change the junior and senior year considerably. I’d like for us to have flexible scheduling and add more internships or something to get students engaged in furthering their careers later. It might be flexible scheduling. Not just starting and stopping in your day, but maybe the length of the school year as well. This probably wouldn’t be very popular with the students, but I know it would make more opportunities for kids to be successful.

Lastly, how do you feel about the direction USD 250 is heading in?

I have a lot of aspirations for what I would like to see the high school become.

It would force us to restructure some things, and I honestly don’t know what it would look like, but we have to think about education from a different viewpoint than we always have. That is hard for teachers. It’s hard for me. I just don’t know what it looks like, and I need some people to help me figure out how to get it going. I’m really hopeful, though, that we can keep moving the needle.

PHS students are college ready but we need to be more individually focused on students.

-ERIC FLATON (ENGLISH)

programs prepare post-high school plans

Organizations offer students the opportunity to explore different colleges, careers Connor balthazor & Patrick Sullivan @connor71999 @P_Sullivan15 The PHS mission statement says, “Every student at Pittsburg High School will graduate ready to be successful in post-secondary education…” So, what exactly does our school do for its students to prepare them for college?

Trio

TRiO is designed for students with disadvantages, including: students from less fortunate families, first-generation college students, and individuals with disabilities. The focus of TRiO is to help students find a post-secondary education area of interest. They also provide two free ACT tests. There are currently 83 students in the program at PHS along with 40 at PCMS. Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, is targeted for low-income receiving students. GEAR UP offers

scholarships offered for up to $3000 dollars for eight semesters. There are 60 students currently in the program.

Jag

Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) is a program under the guidance of Jeremy Johnson. JAG is meant to help set students on a positive path for life after high-school. The program focuses on; the ACT, how to get a job after high school, searching and applying for post-high school education, among other things. JAG also has no prerequisites on who is allowed join.

Gifted program

The school’s gifted program is run by Mary Geier in the gifted resource room. The students in gifted are given opportunities to expand their knowledge in a subject of their choice.

freshmen and sophomore resources Freshmen

advocate

Kristin

Thomas

and

Sophomore advocate Susan Russian main jobs are to set students on the right track in high school for their post-education life. They meet with every freshmen and sophomore at least once a semester to check on their trajectory and what they want to do after high school.

The sophomore job shadow program is run by Karen Odgers to give students an opportunity to observe a career that they are interested in. The mock interviews are to prepare students for the time in their lives where they will need to do a job interview.

resources for all students

The PHS counselors primary jobs are to schedule classes for each student and to give students advice with personal issues. Gina Ulbrich, Phil Jay, and Jessica Stegman, are the school’s counselors.

Our school offers several opportunities to gain information on various paths to take after high school that appeal to different groups of people with different goals.

GRAPHIC BY TRINA PAUL INFO COMPILED FROM COLLEGE BOARD

6 news

www.boosterredux.com

riding the ramps: Lily Black @Elaine_Black557 Many students participate and dedicate time hobbies performed outside of school. Several students have taken a liking to riding bicycle motocross (BMX) bikes at Schlanger Skatepark on Fourth St. For sophomore Darrel Barley, BMXing has been a part of his life for a few years. At the age of 12, Barley was influenced to begin riding by watching other BMX riders.

“I would always go up to the local skatepark when I was young and watch friends ride, like my good friend Brandon Gilley, but watching BMX edits on Youtube always inspired me.”

Junior Brandon Gilley has similar interests in BMX. Gilley has been riding his entire life but only recently started BMXing.

“I’ve been riding bikes ever since I can remember, all the time everyday,” Gilley said. “Just riding my bike, I broke my left collarbone twice and my right collarbone.”

As to not suffer similar injuries to Gilley, sophomore Calysto Ross makes sure to take extra precaution.

“I’m very cautious, because I’m scared to hurt myself. I concentrate on the world around me and I pay attention to where everyone is going,” Ross said. “Say Brandon is going one direction, I can always assume what he is going to do, so I avoid it.

[As well as,] cars when I’m riding home.”

Based on how you absorb knowledge and how you practice, it could take varying lengths of time to learn a new trick.

“Every trick is different and depending who you are, you could learn a trick in a day, or it could take years to learn,” Barley said. “You can’t think about the trick to much while learning it. Trying to figure it out will just mess with your head.”

Although Gilley believes it is just as much about having fun as it is BMXing, he admits it is quite exasperating at times.

“It’s very frustrating when you can’t land a trick that you know you can and very frustrating learning new tricks, because they’re new tricks and you don’t know how to do them,” Gilley said.

But in the end, all the hard word and time pays off.

“Along with learning new tricks, you always tend to get hurt and fall constantly until you can decently perfect the trick,” Gilley said. “It is an awesome feeling, it is hard to describe. It is like feeling accomplished or being finished with some-

Wednesday, Nov. 30

Students devote time to BMX biking at local skatepark

SECTION D

Booster Redux staff and policy Editors-in-Chief Journey Jaramillo Gina Mathew Trina Paul Kali Poenitske

Design Editor Jake Webb

Staff

Sophomore Darrel Barley performs an airing pyramid at Schlanger Skatepark where he has BMX biked since he was 14.

PHOTO BY CALYSTO ROSS.

thing after a long time coming.”

Ross is undecided when it comes to racing competitively as he isn’t given much of a choice.

“There aren’t any racing opportunities around here,” Ross said. “[I do] whatever I think is fun, freestyle you could say.”

According to Gilley, it is not only about furthering your BMX skills.

“You want to strive to get better, but a lot of it is just about having fun.” Gilley said.

Although he has no plans of racing competitively, Nichols could see himself developing a career in BMX riding.

“I’ve thought about it, [and] racing is cool, but I’m not really that interested in it,” Nichols said.

“With racing you have to have a track, not necessarily if you’re training, but with freestyle, you can do it anywhere.”

According to Barley, it is best to be laid-back and carefree when riding.

“I try to feel motivated while riding, I have more fun that way. I don’t really concentrate one thing, I just ride and cruise around,” Barley said.

“I always thought freestyle BMX was more entertaining.”

Taking the edge of a long day and the inventive techniques incorporated in BMX are what really draws freshman Richard Nichols in.

“I like the fact that with freestyle there’s really complicated things that you can learn,” Nichols said. “I like that you can get creative with things and for me it’s a stress reliever.”

Getting to hang out with friends and having a good time is the main priority for Barley.

“It’s fun getting to ride bikes with all of my friends,” Barley said. “That’s what it’s all about.”

engineering success Students compete at engineering competition at University of Kansas Kali Poenitske @kali_poenitske

On Oct. 25, six students traveled to the University of Kansas (KU) to compete in the KU Honors engineering competition. There were events in the categories of aerospace, chemical, computer, civil and mechanical engineering. At stake was a $10,000 grand prize to the winning team of up to four people.

Senior Corbin Russell, junior Walt Sours, and freshmen Hannah Casper and Bo McDowell participated in the civil engineering portion.

“We built a structure out of K’NEX to take to competition, and we tried to see how much it could withstand in terms of weather,” Casper said. “The weather we had was an earthquake. They put it on a shake table to see how long it could stand.”

Though the team prepared for weeks, their design was completely changed hours before the event.

“Beforehand, we studied the best way to build a structure and make it the most solid, McDowell said.

“Then, we built one out of K’NEX to use the least [amount of] pieces so it was cheap and the most structurally safe. We had the plan beforehand, but on the car ride we destroyed it all and completely rebuilt it.”

The civil engineering team placed fifth. Their success served as motivation for next year’s competition.

“I was surprised at first, but the scholarship made us want to do better next year,” Casper said.

Junior Lewis Weller and sophomore Sam Kirby competed in computer engineering.

“We all sat together and on the projector they had all of everyone’s stats: which questions they had gotten right and how many attempts it had taken them,” Kirby said. “We had about an hour or two to solve all the problems in coding.”

While the information was displayed, it wasn’t always accurate.

“Their automatic judge messed up with some of the other languages and it wouldn’t display them as correct,” Kirby said. “We didn’t know, at first, how we did during the entire thing, and that was really nerve racking.”

The computer engineering team tied for third with Spring Valley High School.

“I was pretty happy with third, considering that I knew most of the language we were coding in, but I hadn’t used it for a while,” Kirby said. “So after just reviewing the night before and getting third, I was pretty happy.”

Gifted facilitator Mary Geier was pleased with the results.

“I really wanted them to have an opportunity to see what they are able to apply from their classes and compare themselves to others from across the state of Kansas, and I wanted them to work as a team,” Geier said. “They did well and represented PHS well.

[Overall], it was a good learning experience.”

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Back Row: Aspin Durbin, Gina Mathew, Maddie Baden, Kali Poenitske, Kaitlyn Kidd, Maddy Emerson, Connor Balthazor, Patrick Sullivan. Front Row: Hazel Harper, Harleigh Drake, Myla Turner, Grace Palmer, Jordan Hawkins, Amanda Bourbina.

sweeping the nation

Student Publications brings home hardware from national convention maddy robison @maddyrobison19 This year, Student Publications received national recognition for its respective publications. Three students earned nominations from the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA). Out of 922 submissions, juniors Kali Poenitske and Gina Mathew were nominated and awarded second place for Story of the Year, news category, for their story “Life after February 28.”

“When I found out I was nominated, I was elated.

To me, it’s so cool to know that my level of writing is close to some -ALIVIA of our past writers who I looked up to,” Poenitske said. “After they announced we had gotten second place, it did not feel real.”

Mathew and Poenitske’s story was published in March 2016. This is the first time either journalist has been nominated.

“After our story was published, we were not only commended for it, but also for the closure it provided some people, which made me realize it was much more than just a piece of writing,” Mathew said. “I was glad we did the story justice.”

Senior Alivia Benedict placed first in Editorial Cartoon. She was previously recognized at the national level for her art and earned an honorable mention at last year’s

“

competition. Her art was published in April 2016. It was drawn for an in-depth story about texting and driving.

“It doesn’t really affect me to be nominated,” Benedict said. “I’ve dedicated my life to art, and I know my talents.

Though it is nice to be recognized, I don’t need to be acknowledged to be satisfied.”

The winners for each category were announced at the Journalism Education Association and National Scholastic Press association’s BENEDICT annual fall convention in Indianapolis on Nov. 12.

Thirteen students traveled to Indianapolis, eight of them placed in the write-off competitions. Juniors Maddy Emerson, Myla Turner, Grace Palmer, Harleigh Drake, Kaitlyn Kidd, Kali Poenitske, Patrick Sullivan and senior Aspin Durbin.

“It was a crazy journey, and I couldn’t have done it without Gina,” Poenitske said.

“It was an amazing experience. Win or lose I will be grateful we were nominated, it’s a really big honor, and it’s cool to see how far I’ve come since freshman year.”

I will be grateful we were nominated, it’s a really big honor, and it’s cool to see how far I’ve come since freshman year.”

I’VE DEDICATED MY LIFE TO ART, AND I KNOW MY TALENTS. THOUGH IT IS NICE TO BE RECOGNIZED, I DON’T NEED TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED TO BE SATISFIED.

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Maddie Baden Meghan Baker Connor Balthazor Alivia Benedict Lily Black Justin Blythe Amanda Bourbina Sophie Graham Jordan Hawkins Johnson Grace Kafka Alec Kangas Nicole Konopelko Madison Nagel Angela Ortega Lexi Palmer Maddy Robison Patrick Sullivan Darius Tinsley Faith Turner Skyla Wallace Julie Wilson

Adviser Emily Smith

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