What’s Right With Our Schools: University High
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – Hamilton County Schools and UTC have teamed to put equity into action! University School serves as a college pipeline for kids who might not have considered a four-year university education. It’s an inclusive example of what’s right with our schools.
Arielle Garcia-Hayes is the Principal University High.
She says, “University High is a program School through Hamilton County Schools. Under the Umbrella of the Workforce Development College Schools network. The program is 2 years, we accept uh Juniors and then they’ll go into their senior years.”
Dante Williams from the Howard School says, “It’s repairing me so when I go to college. It’ll feel easier and it won’t feel like it’s just a brand-new experience, and I just feel overwhelmed about it.”
Arielle Garcia-Hayes adds, “We represent 10 different high schools right now. We give them an opportunity at something non-traditional and allow them to finish their High School career while starting their Collegiate career.”
Laurn Mack from Tyner says, “I wanted more for myself. I wanted um another experience. I wanted to see like what else was out there; what else could I do.”
Arielle Garcia-Hayes chips in, ” It’s so important for students to begin getting acclimated to college life, especially for the students that we serve. Over half of our population will be first college generation graduates. So, what we’re doing is we’re breaking those barriers, um and getting them the exposure that they need to explore. What they could foresee themselves doing, and what career that they could have.”
Brooklyn Wilkins from Howard says, “I wanted to get started on my career early. Um I didn’t want to spend all my life in school. So, I wanted to kind of get some of it done now, because I just didn’t really like the idea of being in school for a very long time after I just finished. I definitely still want to do college, but I just want to get some of that time knocked out.”
Arielle Garcia-Hayes says, “The dual enrollment Grant allows us to uh give students access to college coursework. And what’s really exciting about University High is that, we are on UTC’s campus. And so they get UTC college credits. So that’s a major university that they can use those credits anywhere they want to go after they graduate from high school.”
Malik Childress from Brainerd says, ” It does take away that fear, because going into college, now have experience. Being on a college campus, I know what it’s like to be around older people, being in a college class how to take notes in a college class, talking to my professor, emailing my professor, and just good communication all around.”
Arielle Garcia-Hayes concludes, “College isn’t for everybody. We want to show them the possibilities that it can be for anybody. And that they deserve to be here just like anybody else. Um in the beginning they were so nervous about being on a college campus, but the students have really done an amazing job. Um acclimating themselves to the campus life. So, when they become freshmen one year when they go to a university it’s not going to be anything new. They’re going to understand where the bursar’s office is. They’re going to understand how college classes work. They deep dive into their syllabi so that they understand it they have to figure out what days are exam days, use scantrons and go pick up blue books. And these are all things that they’ve experienced here that won’t be something new for them especially since they don’t come from generations of college graduates.”
