When a parent is called into the principals office for an emergency, its usually trouble.
So thought Lajuana McCree whose daughter, Promise, is a senior at South Grand Prairie Early College High School outside of Arlington, Texas.
A hidden video shows a tense mother, ready for war.
Instead, Promise lived up to her name, surprising her mother with the news that she had been accepted into college the first in the family.
The mother breaks into dance.
SOUTH GRAND Prairie is a charter high school whose focus is seeing that its students continue on to college. Along with an advanced curriculum, the school also offers college classes free of charge for students beginning their freshman year.
Many graduate with two years of college credits under their belts, a practice that some area students here take advantage of through Allen Community College.
And lest you think South Grand Prairie is an elite school, its geared for first-generation college students whose families come from traditionally underserved populations, and as such provides a generous support staff in terms of tutors and counselors to help ensure students keep their focus on their studies and are not sidetracked by the challenges often presented by poverty.
The goal of the Early College High School consortium is to create a statewide culture of higher education.
To make it truly amazing, Texas would adopt such a model for its public schools, which are notoriously underfunded.
FOR PROMISE McCree, the story sheds light on three points.
First, her being accepted to Grambling State University in Louisiana next fall will expose her to a world of possibilities including high-paying careers, if she so chooses.
Second, this opportunity is crucial for Promise because as an African-American female, her chances at success without a higher degree are fairly limited.
Despite all the hype about good-paying careers that dont require a college education wind and solar energy technicians, welders, plumbers, electricians those primarily benefit men, not women.
And third, what has become evident in Promises story is the important role of her mother.
Im just in awe of the woman shes becoming, LaJuana McCree says of her 18-year-old daughter. The possibilities are endless.
