Shannon Murray
CBS 7 Reporter
smurray@cbs7.com
January 24, 2012
Odessa, TX - Texas is celebrating "National School Choice Week" this week.
Events are planned across the state to highlight the need for enhanced education options for students.
The movement hopes to inspire parents to look at all options outside of their neighborhood schools.
School choice supporters say "Texas leaders should do more to improve student achievement and attainment by expanding access to improved public schools, public charter schools, private schools, virtual education and home schooling."
There are options here in West Texas. Over the years several charter schools have popped up in our area.
Harmony Science Academy has locations across the state and 2 years ago a campus opened up here in Odessa. Parents immediately jumped on board and they say, for them, it was by far the right move.
Nathaniel Everett hopes to be an aerospace engineer one day so he made the move to Harmony Science Academy, a school that centers around advanced science and math.
"It's focusing more on advanced math not just math to pass the test. In other schools I've been at they haven’t been teaching you for the future they've been teaching you to pass the TAKS Test," Everett claims.
"My children...while I love them, they would not thrive in a sports minded community. My children are very mathematically and scientifically minded," explains parent Sunny Busby.
Busby has 5 children attending Harmony. For her, it was an easy choice.
"They need something that is academically focused because that's where their strengths are."
Statewide the Harmony School System claims to have a 100% graduation rate, a 0% dropout rate and they say 100% of the students go to college.
"We make sure that every one of them goes to college," enforces Principal Emin Cavusoglu.
Administrators believe small class sizes and high expectations are the reasons behind their success.
"Our focus is on 1 student at a time. Making sure they are graduating and going to college," Cavusoglu says.
"It's more like a family I guess you could say," claims Everett.
You can read the rest of the article and watch the news clip HERE.
