Finally academics are bing honored in going from High School to College. Big deals are made out of Student Athletes signing with the school they have chosen to go to to play their sport of choice, but isn't the real point of education to educate? There are now high schools and colleges in Southwestern Ohio that are honoring these student. An Academic Signing day has happened two years in a row now. I am saddened that I did not hear about this last year, and I think it is a great idea. We should honor our future CEO's, Business Owners, Lawyers, Doctors, and Scientists. This is an excellent first step in bringing recognition to the real future leaders of America.
Tuesday was Academic Signing Day at three Cincinnati-area high schools.
Winton Woods, Princeton and Hamilton high schools all held public celebrations that mimicked the much-publicized college signing events that top athletes enjoy.
This time, the students being honored are top academic achievers in their schools.
"This is probably one of the most important days in the academic calendar," Kevin Jones, college counselor at Winton Woods, told the audience of about 100 parents, community members and students who celebrated that school's top 15 seniors.
"We're here to celebrate their futures and their decisions of where they're going to college. We know it's a community effort to raise our students."
The students, in suits or dresses, announced their college acceptances and - with a little suspense - announced which college they chose and their probable major.
Then representatives from some of those colleges handed them small gifts - pennants, T-shirts and gift bags - and took pictures with their new recruits.
Lucille Dennis, whose daughter, Shapri, announced acceptances at seven colleges, said she's glad that younger students attended the event, because her daughter is a good example for them. "Some people do better when they see other people do better," she said.
Zelaya Meadows won a scholarship to Northwestern University to study biomedical engineering.
He said students aren't often honored for such skills as writing winning essays.
"Sometimes you have to look beyond the athletes," she said. "Some people apply themselves to other things besides sports."
Princeton and Hamilton high schools each highlighted their top 10 students at similar events Tuesday afternoon.
"It's the cream of the crop of our school, so we felt we should recognize them," said Joani Copas, a spokeswoman for Hamilton High.
Badin High School, the Catholic school in Hamilton, also plans to hold an academic signing May 22.
Academic signings are taking off in Southwest Ohio, in part because Princeton High's first academic signing last year generated so much goodwill and publicity, representatives of several schools said.
Also, Princeton's college counselor, John Beischel, teaches high school counselors at Xavier University.
He put the bug about academic signings in the ear of some of his students.
"It's a wonderful thing for students who worked hard," he said. "I'm thrilled that three other schools are doing it."
Beischel said he got the idea after sitting at an athletes' signing event with Princeton Superintendent Aaron Mackey.
"I said, 'Why don't we do something like this for our academic students?' And he said, 'Why don't you?' "
0 comments:
Post a Comment