GED or HSED?

Why get a GED?

The GED is not the only way to earn the equivalent of a high school diploma.Christina International High School has designed an adult program called Welcome Back that leads to an actual high school diploma.

All pretests, interactive lessons, study materials, and final exams are online and available to the student 24/7.

Students do not have to navigate the process alone. A mentor is assigned to each student to provide assistance as needed and to ensure a successful outcome.

The program is designed as a five-week seminar but may be completed at the student’s desired pace.

For more information or to consult with a counselor please call our toll free number: 1.877.211.8470.

You may also find more information about our school and the Welcome Back Program on our Web site: www.christinainternationalhs.com

Why Christina International High School?

Why CIHS?
CIHS is an education solution for a diverse student body with diverse academic needs. CIHS provides standard middle school and advanced high school diplomas, credit recovery and ESL programs as well as advanced placement programs. CIHS graduates are able to be competitive in future studies, whether they are at the university, junior college or technical school levels. Even after receiving diplomas, CIHS is not done with our students! We provide additional learning opportunities including ACT/SAT test preparation, career path counseling, adult continuing education and follow-on training guidance. At CIHS, we provide our students with:
· Leading Edge Web-Based Academics
· Widely Accepted and Accredited Curricula that meets State Academic Standards
· Personalized Education Plans to meet Unique Student Needs
· Responsive Student-Teacher Interaction in a Virtual Environment
· Dedicated and Experienced Staff that are Always Available to Work with You
· Dedicated and Experienced Online Educators
· Secure, Robust, Yet Readily Accessible, Web-Based Interface

Did you drop out of high school?

There are many reasons that students drop out of high school. But, the bottom line is, we - the establishment, have failed our kids!

Life has become very complicated for our young people. But, the establishment has not changed. Any student who is not able to figure out how to fit in, or make it work, has been blamed for causing their own problems. The system has not examined itself, been held accountable or taken responsibilty to adapt to student needs.

The following has been taken from a bulletin posted September , 2007 by Alliance for Excellent Education: http://www.all4ed.org/files/GraduationRates_FactSheet.pdf retrieved January 7, 2009.

Over a million of the students who enter ninth grade each fall fail to graduate with their peers four years later. In fact, about seven thousand students drop out every school day. Perhaps this statistic was acceptable fifty years ago, but the era in which a high school dropout could earn a living wage has ended in the United States. Dropouts significantly diminish their chances to secure a good job and a promising future. Moreover, not only do the individuals themselves suffer, but each class of dropouts is responsible for substantial financial and social costs to the communities, states, and country in which they live.

What can be done for these kids?

Ken and I have started a totally online school, Christina International High School. We have responded to the need for an alternative educational system delivery that makes each individual a priority. All you need is access to the Internet and a desire to learn.

CIHS offers full curriculum for Middle School, and High School including AP and Credit recovery.

CIHS also offers a number of Adult Programs with allows adults to finish their high school course work and earn a regular diploma or a high school equivalent diploma (best suited for adults over 25 years of age).

I will work with each student and parent. You will not just be a number or name on a roster. I will design a plan to meet your educational goals and I will work with you to achieve them.

For more information about our programs, accreditation, technology requirements and other stuff, please go to www.christinainternationalhs.com

Alternatives/solutions

Many would like to somehow resolve the problem of being bullied and stay in their current school.

This may be possible and has actually happened for a number of victims. Unfortunately, this is often impossible.

Once a student has become an established target of bullying, the situation is complicated by history, expectations, reputation, unhealed wounds, and resentment on the part of all involved.

Falling or failed grades and any risky behaviors that took place before the resolution of the situation are only part of what needs to be overcome.

Many experts recommend that students get a fresh start by attending a new school. Often the student's reputation-either of being worthy of being bullied or of reporting it, follows him or her to the new school, even when the parents have moved to a new school district.

Online schools have become a lifesaving alternative.

Christina International High School is one of the great alternatives out there. We started it for many reasons. It meets the needs for any student who does not want to attend a traditional brick-and-mortar school.

For students who have struggled with being bullied, CIHS offers a number of benefits. It offers the flexibility of home school with the advantages of licensed instructors, interactive curriculum and professional school counseling support.

Please go to the Web site at: http://www.christinainternationalhs.com/ for more information.

Write in here with any questions you may have and I will be happy to respond.

school programs

Many schools have violence prevention policies/programs in place. Juvonen (2002) has identified over 200 institutional programs. However, many programs have not had the desired outcome.

Sprague and Walker (2002) have identified at least 8 school practices that contribute to the problem of youth violence in school. One of the reasons for unhappy outcomes is the long history of schools implementing unproved programs and methods.

There is a lack of good research supporting successful methods, forcing schools to implement "promising" ideas to satisfy the demands of communities and parents to do something about school violence (TIUE, 1998; Sherman, 1998; Cornell, 1999; Whaler, Fetsch, & Silliman, 1997).

Kimberling and Wantland (2002) have identified another reason for program failure as inadequate school staff development. Inadequate staff development fails to allow for adequate implementation and maintenance of any program.

In addition, the tendency to punish those involved in bullying situations, especially the old "zero-tolerance" policies, have acted to distract schools from active prevention efforts (Prothrow-Stith, in Zehr, 2001; Sprague & Walker, 2002).

I would suggest that part of the problem is the lack of accountability. Just because a school has a program "in place" does not mean that there is motivation for its success, accountability for its consistent implementation and follow-up with its results.

Role of Schools

Nansel et al., (2001) believe that the dangers of bullying aren't taken seriously in this country.

It is common for school administrators to deny that they have a problem with bullying. Nansel states that in order to solve this problem, schools must acknowledge the problem.

An example of the reluctance on the part of educators to believe that they are key to solving this problem can be seen with the National Bullying Awareness Campaign (NBAC). The National Education Association (NEA) introduced the NBAC in 2002. The Web site provides basic information about the problem of bullying (http://www.nea.org/issues/safescho/bullying). The NEA stresses that solutions for youth violence are the community's responsibility. Although they recognize some of the consequences of this problem, they are reluctant to accept that schools have the ability and the responsibility to turn this around.

Teachers are one of the most important adults in the lives of young people (Bernard, 2003; Elias et al., 1997; Stringfield & Land, 2002). Teachers and other adults need to understand the problem of bullying in order to become a catalyst for a solution.

Despite the information that is available about the issue of youth violence in general and bullying in particular, most adults are unaware of the magnitude of the problem (Galinsky & Salmond, 2002; Beane, 1999; Coloroso, 2003; Rigby, 1997; Simmons, 2002; Smith et al., 1999).

School and Teacher response

Many teachers don't know how to deal with bullying when they recognize it; schools may not have consistent, effective, comprehensive bullying policies. Teachers, if they are aware of it at all, have heard about bullying incidents second hand and consequently, view intervention as opening a can of worms.

Teachers, administrators and other adults are often very defensive when an upset parent approaches them about the problem. Unable to view the situation from an objective perspective, school authorities may require witness testimonies and the names of the children involved.

These same authorities may also have a policy of revealing the name of the child reporting incidents to the accused party. In this situation, retaliation against the reporter is almost guaranteed. Another important point is that school authorities may believe that bullies come from abusive homes. Traditionally they are reluctant to speak to the parents of known bullies for fear that the child will in turn be abused at home (Papazian, 2000).