Chardon Schools is one of 250 school districts in the U.S. and Canada being honored by The College Board with placement on the 10th annual AP District Honor Roll.
AP Honor Roll
Chardon Schools is one of 250 school districts in the U.S. and Canada being honored by The College Board with placement on the 10th annual AP District Honor Roll.
“Over the last four years, we’ve expanded our course offerings specifically in AP and foundational classes and have found great success with our students as they attempt these rigorous courses for college and career readiness,” said Dr. Ed Klein, assistant superintendent of Chardon Schools.
To be included on the honor roll, Chardon Schools had to, since 2017, increase the number of students participating in AP (Advanced Placement) courses while also increasing or maintaining the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher. Reaching these goals shows that the district is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students for AP.
CHS Poverty & Homelessness Simulations
Earlier this fall, approximately 150 students from Chardon High School’s Chardon Interact Club and Chardon Service Learning class volunteered to participate in one of two poverty simulation events as one part of a series of subsequent exploratory and community service activities designed to provide an in-depth experience of the complexities of poverty and homelessness. The series also included a chili cookoff hosted by Chardon Interact Club students at Chardon High School, an initiative that raised $800 for the students to donate at a later date to Su Casa, a homeless shelter in Chicago.
Following the second poverty simulation event here in Chardon, presentations were provided to participating students by a homeless person and by agencies that included Project Hope and Lake County’s Extended Housing program. That same night, 17 of the CHS students, as well as several chaperoning staff members, experienced Shantytown wherein they slept out on the CHS football field in tents and cardboard boxes in an effort to simulate some of the effects of one night of homelessness. The students were without cell phones or flashlights and only had a very small bowl of soup as nourishment.
“Significant rain and wind occurred that night,” said biology teacher Rob Mizen, one of the chaperoning staff members. “So the students had a much more realistic homeless experience than expected.”
CHS senior Allison Sutton described the Shantytown experience as providing insight into what is actually happening in the real world.
“I think Mr. Mizen and Mr. Brown did a fantastic job of making the experience as close as possible to real life,” said Sutton. “I honestly had a rough night. My box caved in, so when I woke up, I had a smaller amount of room to move. When I woke up, I was able to ring out my blanket full of rainwater. I think I woke up every two hours that night.”
Sutton also described the relief of not having access to phones that night and the meaningfulness of sitting and interacting with students and staff.
“We laughed and interacted and talked to kids that we wouldn’t normally talk to,” said Sutton. “Because of Shantytown, I made lifelong friends.”
The following morning was a school day for the students without their usual morning routines to start the day.
“These dedicated advocates returned to school tired, cold and hungry but with a better understanding of the causes of homelessness and how they can partner with the assets in our community working to improve the lives of people without a place to call home,” said Principal Doug Murray.
The culminating event occurred one week later wherein six Chardon High School students, along with chaperoning staff members, visited Chicago for several days of living at the Su Casa homeless shelter. Students gained experience serving meals, cleaning, learning about homeless shelter dynamics and funding, talking with homeless families and more. Additionally, the trip included five service hours at the Greater Chicago Food Bank where students helped repackage 12 tons of food into small components for delivery to soup kitchens and military veteran agencies.
Mizen said the Chicago trip was a rich experience for students – so much so that he and the staff members are already looking forward to planning a student service trip to a homeless shelter in Cleveland in the 2020-21 school year.
