HARRISBURG – They have had their ups and downs through the school year, but today was a day to celebrate.
About 320 students graduated from Harrisburg High School in a ceremony held this afternoon at the Farm Show Complex.
“It was probably the best four years ever,” said graduate Dylan Crosson said.
It was a happy ceremony with lots of optimism for the future, but it was also a ceremony held under the shadow of the possibility of the state taking over the Harrisburg School District.
Some of the parents and graduates attending today’s ceremony had mixed feelings about that, but they seemed to have one thing in common. They want whatever will be best for the students. And many of them feel they got the best in their time in Harrisburg.
Crosson said he’s pleased with the quality of education and honors curriculum he received at Harrisburg High School’s SciTech campus, the district’s math and science magnet school. Students must apply to attend SciTech, and enrollment at the campus is limited to 400 students. This year, the district reported 350 students enrolled at the campus.
“It put me in a great position for college,” he said.
By the time he’s in college in a few short months, studying psychology and photography, a court decision will likely be made on whether or not the state will run the school district. But whatever happens, he said he just wants to see his school do well.
Graduate Marsha Washington attended the high school’s main John Harris campus, and while it was a struggle at times, she said she worked hard and feels good about the quality of her education at the campus where graduation rates have historically been low. Although the teachers care about the kids and do their best, she said the onus is still on the students.
The district reported enrollment at the main campus this year was 1,024.
“If they want to learn, the teachers will teach,” she said. “It’s up to the kids to take it in.”
She feels Harrisburg High School prepared her for the next step of going to college to possibly become a physical therapy assistant.
Shawn Williams, whose son, Jeremiah Richardson, graduated from Harrisburg High School’s Cougar Academy, the district’s cybershool, said it’s the perfect setting for students. There’s a focus on instruction, and the students — the district reported enrollment at 205 — get that important individual time with their teachers. He’s pleased with the education his son got at this campus, where he had moved him from the John Harris campus.
As far as a state takeover goes, he just has one wish.
“As long as it’s to better the kids, I’m all for it,” he said. “If the state thinks they can do better than we’re doing now, we’ll see.”
Stewart Jackson sent daughter, Nikita, to SciTech to get the best possible education in the district, he said, adding he did not want her to attend John Harris campus, where he attended school. He said a state takeover may be just what’s needed to turn things around at the district’s largest campus.
“They’ve done it once before, and I think they should do it again,” Jackson said. “Kids are not getting their education at Harrisburg High.”
Naomi Frazier, whose son, Ernest Frazier, is graduating with a 3.8 grade-point average from SciTech, said the teachers there have helped her son overcome some early learning difficulties to become successful, and seeing this success, she’s on the fence about whether or not a state takeover is necessarily a good thing.
“Ultimately, it is about our kids, so whatever will allow them to get the best education they can get, I’m all for it,” she said.
Valedictorian Peng Lu credits much of his own success to attending the specialized honors programs at the SciTech campus. But you have to seek out more than the school offers to truly succeed, he said.
“The secret to success is to reach out,” he said. “There are a lot of opportunities students can get from local companies and local universities, but you have to reach out and look for those opportunities.”
As far as a potential state takeover goes, he said there are a lot of variables.
“It would depend on who in the state is managing it,” he said. At the SciTech campus, it’s small, and everyone there knows each other, but moving control to the state could create a level of faceless bureaucracy. “You might be able to do more things, but you might lose that connection.”
During the ceremony itself, there was no mention of it. The ceremony was about the students and their futures.
Harrisburg graduate and New York-based actor Jayson Ward Williams was the commencement speaker, and he told the students that their high school diploma has given them a master key to many locks in the world. It’s time for them to find the door that leads to a life that will make them happy.
“What’s the difference between people who do do it, and the people who don’t? It’s very simple,” he told them. “Determination.”
As they move forward in life, though, they should not forget their fellow Cougars because the world works on connections, and these school connections are the very first ones to develop.
As the graduates now set out to take on the world, their futures are full of wonder and anticipation, but the future of the Harrisburg School District is one of uncertainty.
A court decision is pending on whether the district will be placed under state control — a request that was made by Department of Education officials amid ongoing academic and financial underperformance within Harrisburg schools.
The petition filed by Education Secretary Pedro Rivera said he is seeking appointment of a receiver because of the district’s failure or “refusal” to implement the recovery plan that had been put in place in 2012 to help guide the district. Specifically, he said the district had failed to:
· Meet or even make meaningful progress toward established targets for student achievement
· Hire and retain a chief financial officer and qualified business manager
· Develop a comprehensive plan to reduce the excessive staff absenteeism
· Exercise appropriate administrative controls by maintaining an accurate staff position file, resulting in, among other things, the district improperly providing health care benefits to former employees at a cost of more than $700,000.
Harrisburg has suffered from some poor graduation rates. The four-year graduation rates for 2016-17, the most recent years available, show the Harrisburg High School John Harris Campus has a 49.9 percent graduation rate while the SciTech Campus had a 98.8 percent graduate rate.