Category: Boarding Facilities

Not all high school students are able to go to college. Either they cannot afford it, do not qualify for financial aid or grants, or simply do not want to go.

High school graduates who choose not to pursue higher education after graduating can enter the workforce immediately .

“We also encourage students who know what career path they’re on to start preparing for that as early as possible,” sfc school counselor Andrea Heath said.

“If they’re going to be a plumber, if they’re going to be an electrician and if their paycheck is coming from those area or whatever it may be, we want them to start thinking about: ‘What do I need?’ “

Heath said.

“They need maybe a certain amount of hours for this type of class or they need to take a certain math course because it’s going to be required for the certification.”

A high school graduate had more opportunities after graduating high school if he could go on to college rather than immediately entering the workforce, Sfc CTE Director Bill Riggs said.

“If we can get them to go to college and they can complete a degree, then their choices are almost unlimited because now they’re qualified for anything,” Riggs said.

“They’ve got the paper that says they can do it.”

Sfc’s ultimate goal is for students to become well-rounded individuals, Heath said.

“We want to help our kids get to the point where they know who they are, they’re comfortable with who they are and they have goals set for what their life is going to be about,” she said.

“If we can do that in high school, then when you do leave Sfc, I think you’re going to have a good foundation of you as a person and your vision of what you want to do with the rest of your life.”

The school’s overall goal is to work with students for their whole lives, Riggs said.

“We’re really interested in not just that diploma that they get at the end or that piece of paper,” he said.

“We want them to leave high school and we want them to go on and be successful in whatever they do.”

The advantages of the school is that it is fairly small, so there are more opportunities for students to get involved in the school, whether it be sports or clubs.

“They’re more likely to get involved with things that they want to get involved with,” Heath said. “We have just a lot more time to spend with them.”

Another benefit is the school’s family atmosphere.

“You can walk down the halls and see kids hugging each other,” Riggs said. “It’s really quite special.”

To be in this school , students must be willing to work hard, Riggs said.

“I tell my kids all the time that it’s not just what you know; it’s how you act with what you know,” he said. “It’s really, I think, just having high expectations of yourself and then doing whatever it takes to make them happen.”

All student become part of the school’s family, Riggs said.

“We understand that they’re changing,” he said. “They might be going through something at home or on the weekends with what their friends are doing, and we want to make sure that no matter what happens outside of Sfc, when they come here, this is their place.”