A day in the life of the Champaign's new Academic Academy
By Jodi Heckel
Sunday November 2, 2008
Heather Coit
English teacher Christine Harrington, left, takes advantage of small class size to work with Astardeiyuna 'Ash' Pierson at the Academic Academy.
The biology class in the new school is small, with just six or seven students. On a mid-October morning, they are making presentations to their classmates. The first student is talking about mammals.
Keisan Cooper turns to a boy sitting behind him. "You nervous?" he asks. "Nah," is the reply.
Keisan's turn is next, and he gives a smooth presentation on the different classifications of plant life.
"Pretty good," the other student says as Keisan sits down.
He wasn't doing so well at Central High School last year.
"I really wasn't getting nowhere because I was distracted," Keisan said. "It wasn't that I couldn't do the work, because I'm smart. But I was too busy hanging out with my friends.
"I decided I needed to get serious because I really wanted to go somewhere with my life."
That's why he's at the Champaign school district's new Academic Academy. The school, at 815 N. Randolph Street, is for high school students who are struggling at Central or Centennial.
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