The Dropout Report: Faces of the
dropout problem
by As told to Andrea Leitch
Local high school students share their education
experiences, as well as their recommendations for helping
others like them succeed in school.
Sedrick Campbell, 18
Will Rogers High School
My problem: My problems started when I moved from Ohio. I got
down here in the eighth grade. I used to get in trouble a lot, and I
ended up fighting a teacher. I got held back, and then my freshman
year I went to Edison. I’d get suspended every time I came back. I
moved back to Ohio. That’s when I dropped out. I was out of school
for, like, the entire first semester of my sophomore year. Then I moved
back down here and started going to Rogers and ever since then I
haven’t been suspended. I’ve been in no trouble.
My experience: It (the school) got me in sports. I’m one of the top college recruits for football and
track. Then, the teachers, they love you a lot, so they try to keep you on the right path.
My recommendation: Don’t do it (drop out). It’s really not worth it. Without that high school
diploma, you can’t get a good job at all, and if you’re out in the streets, you’ll get arrested. Convicted
felons really can’t get a good job.
Margo Arellano, 15
Union Alternative Junior High School
My problem: I started here because when I was in seventh grade, I
always got into fights … I really liked going to school, but (it was) just to
fight. I wouldn’t really do my work, and if I did, it was only in one subject.
My experience: Before I started, I was in a gang. I wasn’t actually in it,
but I got involved in it. When I started here, I still didn’t care. I really
didn’t do my work. I would give all the teachers attitude, and my teachers
tell me now that they knew that they saw potential in me, and they knew
that I was going to be stronger than that. That’s why they kept pushing me to do this and that, and
that’s why they were so hard on me. As the months passed, I started to change in a good way. I was
back to my old self — my sweet self. I started respecting the teachers more and I didn’t give them
attitude, and I started doing my work. They were like, “See, I knew you could do it,” and it’s really
changed me with my family because once, when I started getting in trouble, I really wasn’t that close
to my mom. We would always fight all the time, and now that I’m in here, my mom and I are, like,
best friends, and it’s really cool.
My recommendation: I’ve had friends in the past that wanted to drop out because they hate school
and they hate doing the work because their teachers really don’t pay attention. Here, your teachers
give you all the attention that you want.
Katherine Jones, 17
Union Alternative High School
My problem: I got in the middle of my ninth-grade year and I didn’t
ever go (to Union Intermediate High School). I live right by the I-
High, so I’d walk home every day… I didn’t want to drop out, but I
didn’t like the I-High.
My experience: I like how you’re in (a class) for a month at a time
instead of one hour a day, and then you don’t have homework and
you get all the work done. You learn more, too … And I like the 10-
minute break because, after a while, you get tired of working.
My recommendation: I would tell them (potential dropouts) to try
alternative. Give it a try. They’ll probably like it.
Jennifer Sottnik, 18
Union Alternative High School
My problem: I was into the first week or two of my sophomore year
and kind of got into some problems with some girls there … I was out
of school for about seven months.
My experience: All the teachers are great, and they know you and
they care about you. They actually get to know you as a person and
not just as their student. We’re all like family here, and everyone
knows each other.
My recommendation: Definitely check (Union Alternative High
School) out. Come and talk to Mr. Storm or even just come up here and talk to Amber, the
receptionist. She’s very nice. And just look around; look into the program. They have forums for kids
… Before, when I was going to get in, my mom was the one who told me I should try it, and then my
dad thought, “It’s just where they put bad kids.” He listened in the forums and he was like, “This
sounds like a really good school.” My dad loves the school now.
Daisy Scott, 17
Jenks Alternative Center
My problem: Hardly anything worked out there (Jenks’ Freshman
Academy). I was doing really badly. I was failing a lot of classes … It
was very impersonal, and there were a lot of other issues and other
drama that was a lot easier to pay attention to than the schoolwork …
When I lived in Connecticut, I went to a really small school and then I
came here. I was just at the Freshman Academy and I was like, “This
is only freshmen?” I really think it was just shock of the big school
that started my downhill fall.
My experience: It’s really fun, it’s really relaxed and obviously it’s
way smaller. We’ve got this hallway rather than all the buildings. I’ve
really pulled my grades up. They were all D’s and now I think I got one B (and the rest A’s). It was
more personal. Everyone knew everyone, and you could go to any one of the teachers. You didn’t
have to go to the guidance counselor if you had a problem. Anyone was willing to take time out of
their day to talk to you. It’s really cool. It’s more like family than a school.
My recommendation: I say, just try something else when you think you have no other options, you
want to drop out and you really don’t feel like anyone’s there you know. There’s always a place you
can go. This was mine. Everyone has to find their own.
Quenisha Pierson, 18
Will Rogers High School
My problem: (School) was getting hard and especially because I’ve
got a kid. Staying up with him, trying to do schoolwork, not wanting to
get up in the morning — it’s just hard. And then he’s got bronchitis
and asthma, so he’s always sick.
My experience: It helped me a lot. The people that go here like Ms.
Reynolds, Mr. Burr, Ms. Piper, they’ve been there since day one and
they help me throughout. And I think if it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t
be sitting right here. I’d be dropped out because I wouldn’t care. But
they’d be telling me, “Hang in there, it’s coming, the time is here …” Every day somebody is always
telling me something nice.
My recommendation: Just stay in school. Stick it out. I mean, there’s drama everywhere, but stick it
out.
Cameron Mason, 19
Jenks Alternative Center
My problem: I just had a lot of problems whenever I moved to
Tulsa because I didn’t have any friends or anything. I had a lot of
anxiety problems. There were plenty of options, but we looked at
the Alternative Center. We figured it was probably the best thing for
me at the time.
My experience: It’s opened up a lot of opportunities I wouldn’t
have ever had over at the high school. … Going over to the high
school, I didn’t even really think about going to college, and coming
over here, I’ve done a complete 180. I want to go to college. I’m
trying to start a little business-type thing. It’s incredible.
My recommendation: Definitely check into an alternative center because it’s not for druggies and
dropouts.
Rochelle Battiest, 16
Will Rogers High School
My problem: People used to mess with me, and then I used to get in physical confrontations with
people. I just wanted to drop out, and I was at TAC (Tulsa Academic Center) for six months. And that
was hard, too. I didn’t like it there.
My experience: The teachers are good teachers. They’re nice. They really help you a lot.
My recommendation: Don’t do it (drop out). It’s really not worth it. You won’t get anywhere in life.
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This story originally appeared in the August 2009 issue of TulsaPeople Magazine.