A new class will be offered next year at AHS, which will allow for any high school senior who meets the qualifications to do so to earn high school credits for working.

The idea to develop Work Co-op did not just come from the whims of Dr. Jones. Jones said when he was developing the 2013 master schedule, he came across the Work Co-op class in the list of previously offered classes. The class used to be offered and was supervised by Al Chytka for many years. When Chytka retired in 2012, the class was eliminated. After some thought and a presentation to the School Board, Jones received an okay to provide this opportunity to the seniors of the high school.

Dr. Jones says the class great opportunity for students to develop good character traits. In his eyes, work and school are both a part of the teenage development process, so why not combine them, creating a win-win, if it can be done correctly.

This class will be held near the end of the day. In this way, the students may now work earlier than their usual 4 to 10 shift, which allows them more time afterword for homework, according to Dr. Jones, the AHS principle. Mrs. Garwood will supervise the class of about twenty-five students who will be released from school to work. The students will have to turn in hours or time slips to Garwood for the credit for the class. As of now, there will be no course work for the class.

This coming year will be a trial run to see if this class should once again be offered as a class. I am looking forward to the opportunity when I become a senior.