In a small corner of the San Benito High School library,
students enrolled in Long-Term Independent Study come in throughout
Thursday morning to check in with their teachers for a weekly
meeting to turn in their assignments. The students get one-on-one
attention for 45 minutes with their core teacher, who helps them
with the majority of their subjects.
In a small corner of the San Benito High School library, students enrolled in Long-Term Independent Study come in throughout Thursday morning to check in with their teachers for a weekly meeting to turn in their assignments. The students get one-on-one attention for 45 minutes with their core teacher, who helps them with the majority of their subjects.
This year, around 40 students are enrolled in the program, though the maximum enrollment is 68. The program is an alternative to taking the traditional classes that require students to be on campus five days a week and the reasons for using it are varied. For one girl, it helped her stay in school through a pregnancy and while her daughter is an infant at home. For others, it’s a chance to focus on a sport such as golf, leaving their mornings free to go to tournaments or practice on courses around the Central Coast region. Some of the students and families come from a home-school background and want a smaller setting for their kids.
Kelsey Firstbrook, a junior who is now enrolled in traditional classes, spent her first two years at San Benito High School in LTIS.
“There are 3,000 students and it’s a big campus,” Firstbrook said. “I wanted some more one-on-one interaction so this was the best option.”
Firstbrook had been home-schooled through Ocean Grove Charter School before high school. She said her family knew about the program because she had older friends who were enrolled in it.
“They had everything I wanted to take and do,” she said. “Everyone was helpful.”
For her junior year she decided to join the main campus so that she could take advanced classes and meet the language requirement for applying to college.
“I never felt like I was missing anything,” she said. “I have become comfortable – I know more people on campus.”
Conner Menez and Emma Thompson, both juniors, met with teachers on a Thursday afternoon before taking tests for one of their subjects at a group table.
“I kind of like to be at home,” Thompson said. “It’s more flexible. I get to do a lot more things. If there is somewhere I want to go with my family, I can do that because it’s more flexible.”
The two said they don’t feel as though they are missing out on anything. Menez said that since he plays on the baseball team, he interacts with other students outside the LTIS program.
“In a way I am missing an experience,” Thompson said. “But I don’t find that experience that necessary.”
She said the classes can be a challenge.
“The thing that is challenging is that you have to teach yourself,” she said. “You don’t have a teacher talking to you every day.”
Alyssa Campa, a senior, said that the program does require the students to manage their time well on their own. Campa joined the program two months into her junior year when she found out she was pregnant.
“I was super, super sick,” she said. “I didn’t think I’d be able to (finish school.) I thought it would be way harder than it actually is.”
See the full story in the Pinnacle on Friday.
