It’s us against the world
February 23, 2015
Des Moines Public Schools has five schools in the Des Moines area. Those schools include Roosevelt, Lincoln, Hoover, East, and North high school. Of those five high schools, North is the second smallest school, having over 1,100 students. One cannot question the diversity while walking through the halls of North High.
Many students at North know what other people think of their school. I will never forget going to a restaurant in West Des Moines and talking to our waitress about what high school I went to. The minute I said I went to North, my waitress gave me a pity look and said, “how do you survive? You aren’t afraid to go to school?”
It was such a hypocritical thing to say. What if I would of said, “wow, you go to Southeast Polk? Isn’t there like two different kinds of people who attend your high school? Camo lovers and NorthFace/Ugg boot wearing white girls?” I can’t speak for other students but I wasn’t raised to judge people or something as a whole. Everyone has his or her own story and personal experiences.
I asked students who attend high schools other than North what their first impression of North High School was. All said something about the basketball team. Which is what most people only think about when hearing about the polar bears. Not many know about the academic side to North.
One student who attends East High said, “I feel like since North is a lot smaller than East, you’re able to get closer to your teachers and peers. But I also believe East has more options compared to North. We are a bigger school and have a wider variety of electives.”
According to the Des Moines Public School’s website, East does not offer more electives than North. In fact, East does not offer any more core classes than North. The only classes East has that North does not, are Advanced Placement classes that are offered at Central Academy so North students can sign up for them. This does not just go towards East. Almost all schools in the district offer the same classes and if they do not, they are offered at Central.
North High students have increased their proficiency and graduation rate over the last couple of years. North was ranked 28th on the Top 50 Schools on the Iowa AP Index. The College Board has recently named North one of their “Spotlight Schools” because of the rise of AP classes offered. Also, it was named by the U.S. Department of Education as a “School of Focus” for the use of School Improvement Grant Funds.
Since North is the second smallest school in the district, classroom sizes are smaller than one might see at another school such as Roosevelt or Lincoln. Students are able to have a relationship with not only their peers but also with their teachers and administration. Having a strong bond with your peers at your school enhances the whole “high school experience”.
What would it be like to see new faces every time you walk in the hallway? I could not imagine going to a school and not know the majority of the people.
Another thing many of the students that don’t attend North said is how we lack talent for our athletics besides the basketball program. What these students don’t understand is that we also lack the numbers for these sports. How do you expect a full varsity team ready to compete against schools like Ankeny or Johnston when you only have ten people go out for a sport? This is because students open enroll into the school they want to attend.
Open enrollment rates through the district have gone up. Many students who should be attending North High open enroll into bigger, “better” schools. It could be because their parents attended another high school and they want their child to attend that same school or because their home school’s athletics aren’t where they should be. Either way, offering open enrollment through the district can create an unfair situation through the high schools.
The main goal of a high school is to educate their students and better prepare them for their next step in life. No matter where you go, I believe we are all getting that education and help towards life after high school.
Joseph Toubes • Feb 23, 2015 at 8:58 AM
I have found over the fifty years since I graduated from North, it isn’t where you went to school that mattered, it is what you did with what you learned. Go down the hallway where the Hall of Fame is, read each name, find out from the school why each one of those people were given such an honor. Remember they all are North High graduates, they all made a difference since high school, with what they did with what they received.
Where North doesn’t have the fancy labs, we produce scientists, engineers, doctors, executives. It is what you do with what you are given.
This sums it all up:
“MY DEAR CHILDREN: I rejoice to see you before me today, happy youth of a sunny and fortunate land. Bear in mind that the wonderful things you learn in your schools are the work of many generations, produced by enthusiastic effort and infinite labor in every country of the world. All this is put into your hands as your inheritance in order that you may receive it, honor it, add to it, and one day faithfully hand it on to your children. Thus do we mortals achieve immortality in the permanent things which we create in common. If you always keep that in mind you will find a meaning in life and work and acquire the right attitude toward other nations and ages.”
― Albert Einstein, Ideas and Opinions