Okay, so this one totally through me for a loop. Maybe it is not so unusual to you Texans out there but I never knew they existed!
Schools in malls? Actually twenty-two of them! Tulsa is next up for putting a real school with real teachers inside of a mall. When school resumes in the fall, Promenade mall will be the home to Tulsa Learning Academy.
The first mall to host a school was Rolling Oaks Mall in Texas. Judson Learning Academy was placed inside this mall in San Antonio, Texas in attempt to help upper grade high school student dropouts. Students who dropped out to get a job can still earn a dipolma.
The school holds classes for four hours and fifteen minutes each day. The students can hold down a job and still attend school. The students say that the school is for real. It has real requirements and real work. There are full time teachers employed there. It is not cheap either. The school costs $5,100 per student.
Although Judson Learning Academy has graduated over 800 students and swept through last year with no dropouts and a 100% graduation rate, fewer than 40% of its students are passing the Texas state exams.
A couple of questions came to my mind when I read about the mall schools. First I questioned who paid the tuition of $5,100. Most students that I know who dropout of high school to get a job or provide for the family cannot afford that kind of money. So how does an expensive school like this help them? Perhaps the state funds the school. I am uncertain.
The second question I had was concerning the low success rate in passing the state exams. If 60% of the students did not pass the state exams, how did 100% graduate? I am very glad that the students are earning high school diplomas. However I also do hope that they are well qualified and deserve the paper that they receive.
What do you think?
High School Activities in Middle School