It was 5 p.m., and Nicetas Angco's math students were still rearranging geometric shapes to fit into tangram patterns. Down the hall, another seven hardworking students were learning about chemical compounds and scientific writing.
Almost 100 Largo High School students are studying after school several nights a week with a new program that allows them to earn credit for courses they previously failed — and still graduate on time — without attending summer or night school, said assistant principal Tanya Washington.
“This is to give them a little glimpse of hope,” she said. “They can always get back on track.”
Students who have passed the state's High School Assessments but did not have the right number of credits for their grade level signed up to take one or two classes in English, science, math, social studies or Spanish as part of the school's Saving Our At-Risk Students, or SOARS effort.
Each class meets two afternoons a week for two hours from late January through March.
Teachers, who volunteered to teach the afternoon classes, design their own tests to assess students' understanding of the course content, Washington said. Students who show mastery can earn a C or D to replace the previous failing grade.
Ceniko Akins, a senior at Largo High, said he is beginning to understand pronouns, adverbs and other parts of speech, and is improving his writing style in the English 11 after-school sessions.
Ceniko, 18, of Capitol Heights canceled his plans to attend evening or summer school, which would have allowed him to recover the failed credits but also delayed his graduation.
“They gave me the chance to make better choices so I can graduate on time and walk with my class,” he said.
“I'm not a strong writer, but my teacher's helping me out.”
Students have to pay a $50 fee for each class they take, Briant Coleman, a spokesman for the school system, wrote in an email to The Gazette.
About 80 or 90 percent of students eligible to participate in SOARS — those who have passed the HSA but do not have the correct number of credits for their grade level — are taking classes this spring, Simpson-Marcus said.
Angco, who has taught math at Largo High for four years, said her after-school lessons play to students who learn best kinesthetically, by touching and moving objects like shapes, and visually. She also connects academics to life through examples such as the triangles used in constructing bridges or chairs.
In an Integrated Sciences class, sophomore Maria Cox learned about bias in scientific writing and naming chemical compounds.
Water, she learned, can also be called dihydrogen monoxide.
Maria, a 16-year-old from District Heights, said the smaller class sizes in the credit recovery program — most have no more than 15 students per class — are helpful.
“It's kind of soothing for me,” she said. “It helps me focus more.”
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