SCHEIBLE SAYS…

by Jim Scheible, Executive Director, Clayton Valley Charter High School

As the new executive director at Clayton Valley Charter High School, I could think of no better way to spend a morning than supporting over forty of our Eagles as they attended the area’s annual Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) fair, hosted by Deer Valley High School and the Antioch Unified School District. HBCUs are concentrated on the East Coast and the southern United States, making them difficult for prospective students from California to visit. For the past several years, United College Action Network or U-CAN, a non-profit organization based in Sacramento, has hosted a West Coast tour for these HBCU schools.
One thing making this fair unique is the opportunity for students to be granted on-the-spot admission if their transcript, GPA and SAT/ACT score show they meet the college’s entry requirements. CVCHS senior Ronald Bolden III found this out first-hand after walking away from the fair with five college acceptances, including Shaw University, Alcorn State, Allen, Talledaga and Tuskegee University. Ronald commented, “I’m glad I was able to go to the fair during the school day and be accepted to so many colleges. My family has always pushed me to be my best and go to college. I’ve attended college fairs since 10th grade and until today I never thought I’d do well enough to earn an on-the-spot acceptance. It feels great!”
In addition to admission, students can also be awarded up to a full-ride scholarship if they meet the higher academic requirements for those awards. Another Eagle senior, Rainey William, saw the efforts of her hard work in high school pay off when she was offered admission to Tuskegee University with the option for a scholarship. After receiving the scholarship offer William reflected on the experience saying, “The last four years I’ve been working so hard for my grades. Now it’s all materialized suddenly in my acceptance on the spot to a four-year college!”Of the fourteen CVCHS seniors who attended the fair, eleven of them walked away with offers of admission to a four-year college – a rarity in September of the senior year of high school. In my first month at CVCHS, I have learned Ronald and Rainey represent the potential of all our students in the Eagle family and I cannot wait to partner with the rest of the student body, their families and the hard-working staff at CVCHS.
Go Uglies!