1 worry behind her
September 11th, 2010Briana Gravely said she did it for Amariae, a tiny 6-week-old bundle of joy. “I want my son to know that I am something,” she said.
Short prom dressesGravely was one of 21 Roanoke students who attended Forest Park Academy this summer and on Friday morning received high school diplomas during the city’s summer school graduation.
For Gravely, 18, the path to the finish line has not been easy. She struggled. She said she never liked school, but graduating was important. After failing to graduate on time from Patrick Henry High School in 2009, she enrolled at Forest Park.
Then she got pregnant.
Gravely went to school until the day Amariae was born in July, a life-changing moment — and a transition that was much harder than she expected.
“It is a lot of responsibility,” she said.
When she was ready to return to class, she did not always have child care. She went to class when she could, but quickly fell behind. A teacher made house calls and a friend’s mother offered to watch the baby. Gravely scrambled to finish course work earlier this week in order to graduate Friday.
Gravely sported purple flip-flops to match her cap and gown Friday morning, as she sauntered across the stage at Patrick Henry to receive her high school diploma. A smile of relief and accomplishment stretched across her face as she clutched the diploma, a helium balloon and a bouquet of flowers.
“I don’t have to worry about school no more,” Gravely said, as she embraced Forest Park Assistant Principal Mac McCadden.
Gravely was not the only one relieved.
“You have no idea,” LaVonne Sanders, Gravely’s mother, said emphatically. “You can’t succeed in life without a diploma. That is what I always told her.”
Forest Park helped 108 students stay on that track and graduate in 2009 and about 120 more students are on track to do the same this year.
Jewelry packaging“If I had to say what makes Forest Park different, it is that we strive to make the relationships,” Principal Eric Anderson said. “In some cases, many of these kids never had a real support system.”
Keeping up with the students, knowing where they come from and what they are going through is vital, Anderson Designer bridal gowns said. Secondly, the program is flexible and open on evenings and weekends for students who may be juggling other responsibilities, such as a child, a sick parent or a job, he said.
“I believe all of you have tackled the first problem — you earned a high school diploma,” Superintendent Rita Bishop told the graduates at Friday’s ceremony.
She encouraged them to take the next step forward, whether that may be college or other training. For Gravely, the next step is a job — possibly in retail — and a place to live. She is staying with a friend, and her name is on waiting list for an apartment.
Video at roanoke.com: Meet a Forest Park Academy graduate as she walks across the Patrick Henry High School stage.