Family

Family

by Matthew Griffith
Community High School

Wanna know what CHS means to me? Family. I feel like CHS is a family that backs one another to the end. My view on school has changed since I moved to CHS. I moved from a school that judges people by their appearance. To them I was the troublemaker. I was the bad kid who gets in so many fights. The school forced me away from activities. I got fed up with it, and was about about to drop out and never become successful, [but] I went to the school counselor and she offered this school, called Community High School. My decision was about making my own future.

The first day on the bus was really terrifying. My thoughts on how they would react to me took over — stepping off the bus, not knowing what I got myself into, no turning back now. Feeling the beads of sweat on my face made me even more nervous. I stepped through the big doors of the school. Getting my schedule and finding my class, I never thought of anything [but] feared I might not fit in. Being alone my first two weeks was very cruel. Meeting other people was hard for the first few weeks. I finally went around socializing with the people that sat next to me.

That year was the best experience of my life. I got to go to my first prom as a sophomore, whereas at my base school, you had to be a junior or senior to go to prom. Every semester, new kids come and some old ones go. Getting to meet new people and showing them what it’s like to be a CHS student is the best feeling ever. Knowing you were the one that helped them out and all — is a proud moment. I feel if every school was like CHS then NO ONE would get in trouble or kicked out over crazy things. …

Some say [CHS is] the “bad kids school,” but if you really look at us, we are just like other kids, but we might have issues that we overlook and accepted for ourselves. I like how you look in the cafeteria and nobody is grouped in categories where they feel like they are treated badly and that they are not accepted. For truth, they are [accepted]. We have mothers that are trying to do better for their babies. We have dropouts that want a diploma. We have “misfits,” but in real life, they just want to be accepted.

The teachers at CHS have one-on-ones with the students. They don’t just get to know the student as the student. They treat them as a friend. Even after they rise to the next step in life, the students always come back to see the teacher and tell them what kind of impact they have made in their life. The teacher-student relationship is a friendship and a bond that they have throughout life. I have teachers that I had didn’t see eye-to-eye with at CHS, but after I raised up to the next level, I still like the teacher. … As I walk in the hall, I see teachers with a smile as big as the sun showing that they are really happy to be at CHS. Every day, it puts a smile on my face to see a teacher that is happy to work with kids and they love their job. As I go through my last year at CHS, it saddens me to leave because of the family I have made here every day. Every day, I have gone through many problems, but knowing I have a teacher to talk to makes me feel like they do care and they do wanna help with whatever problem I have. The staff at CHS is the best, and to be honest, I do love each one of them. I feel like I made a place at CHS as a successful student. This letter isn’t for publicity but for love. I love CHS and if I was offered to go back to my base school, I would decline that offer because CHS is where I am supposed to be. When I graduate from CHS, my heart will be always here. It makes me sad to know that I am leaving the best school that I have ever enrolled in, but I will forever have it with me in the knowledge and experiences I gained here.

More than a school

by Mystie Hancock
Community High School

Community High School is more than just a school. It has helped me realize that nothing or no one is worth giving up on. Every student is here for a reason. We are more like family here. The love and support we have for one another follows us outside these walls. I know if I need to talk to any of them about anything, they will be there, no matter what. If it was not for this school, many of the people I’ve know my whole life would’ve gave up on everything. It has helped me become realize I can do anything I set my mind to. Thanks to CHS, my brother is living his American dream. My family and I will be eternally grateful for the second chance I received here. I will never stop telling people just how much this school has meant to me and my brother, Randy. Thanks to y’all, we didn’t drop out. I don’t care who knows I went here. I ain’t ashamed to say it. Honey, I embrace the fact that this is where I receive my diploma.

What CHS means to me

by Dalton Burrell
Community High School

What CHS means to me, it means a new start at finishing school to help my education. I can learn more because my class has less people so I can get more help. But some kids who go here are too resistant to learning. They cuss and don’t work. That’s the one thing I dislike about Community High School. I like how most of the teachers are nice and talk to you and listen to you.

I also like how the school is full of different kinds of students. Everyone gets along better here than a base school. People don’t judge other kids as much as kids do at regular schools.