By Destinee Fort and Anika Chowdhury Staff Writers
Students at Detroit International Academy for Young Women noticed a recent trend: students in various grades left our educational facility only to return days or months later. Where did they go?
Sophomore Darjenee Clark left for an alternative school. These institutions have slightly different focuses in class compared to that of traditional schools. Some alternative schools cater to a diverse range of students with different needs and academic levels, while others focus more on students that have special educational needs or are affected by a variety of social problems.
“The academics weren’t at a higher level and the school itself seemed very unorganized and chaotic,” Clark said.
When asked about why she returned to DIA she said, “DIA has higher standards for all of their students here and the staff shows much more [attention] to their students.”
Alternative schooling might not have been a good fit for Clark but isn’t a negative experience for others. Sophomore De’Ja Jenkins transferred this year to DIA from Mumford High School and said she’d rather be at Mumford.
“At Mumford, test scores were rising, the work was more advanced there,” Jenkins said. “Since [being] at DIA, it feels like it’s mostly review.”
When asked whether she preferred the staff at Mumford more, she said, “I think the staff at both schools are quite similar, but I would still have to pick Mumford since I feel that teachers there used more interactive methods to teach, while at DIA, it seems like all we do is bookwork.”
Senior Destinee Fort left DIA and went to a charter school. This type of school receives public funding but operates independently of the established public school system in which they are located.
“The way you enter a school building is different at charter schools,” Fort said. “There is no security at the front door, while at DIA, we are checked by security guards, which makes me feel much safer.”
While she believes that DPS schools have a “lack of resources” she would still much rather be at DIA because of the “constant care that the staff gives to all the DIA students.”
Sophomore Hadja Simahka had the most recent and interesting education, which is on the rise, online schooling. She attended an online school for a year before transferring.
“It was difficult to be at [this] type of school, mainly due to little interaction between people,” Hadja said. “The school work was harder since I didn’t always get a lot of help.”
Junior Hawa Rahman, who has been at the DIA for about six years, said the “sisterly and affectionate environment of the school and the many opportunities that have been given to me are the biggest reasons why I stayed here and will continue to stay until I graduate.”
