As a teacher in my 7th year at Insight School of Kansas (ISKS), it was heartwarming and thrilling to see my students walk across the stage and accept their diplomas. But this year, I was especially excited. You see, ISKS was originally just a high school. But in 2011, we added a middle school. Shortly after that we added an elementary school. Two of our graduating seniors this year began their K12 schooling careers with us the first year we opened our middle school when they were in only 8th grade. Having taught these two students in both 8th grade, and again through high school, has given me the unique opportunity to witness their academic growth over an extended period of time.
When they came to our brand new middle school, online education was totally new to both students; yet they excelled. As middle school teachers, we were proud of them. But we couldn’t help but wonder, had we prepared them enough for the rigors of high school? Would they excel there as well? I was thrilled when I was given the opportunity to teach in the high school and I noticed they were both on my roster. In the end, both made a seamless transition into high school and performed well throughout their 4 years.
Both of these students walked across the stage to accept their diplomas. Since the addition of our middle school and elementary school, students like these will no longer be a rarity. Next year, we will see some of our first class of original 7th graders receive their diplomas. A few years down the road we will have our first entire class of ISKS kindergarten through high school graduates. The thought of that is mind-blowing and I was excited to sit in that auditorium and cheer them on!
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