Topeka USD 501's College Prep Academy teaches students to embrace fears and do big things

T’Ajahnae Ray was a little fearful, but she did it anyway.

Ray had walked onto Washburn University’s campus for her first day of college, even though she was technically still a high school junior.

She was a girl of two firsts, as a member of the first group of students to enroll in Topeka USD 501’s College Prep Academy five years ago, and the first to pilot a program where a select number of the academy’s students essentially start college two years early.

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“I was lost. I think I walked into the wrong classroom twice,” Ray joked about her first day at Washburn. “It was so big. … I had a whole schedule across a huge campus with different buildings.”

But despite any fear she had about starting college early, Ray knew she had the support system of Kathleen Foster, the academy’s teacher, as well as that of superintendent Tiffany Anderson, her parents and her College Prep Academy peers.

“They got me through it,” Ray said. “It may be rough. There may be challenges. But you are able to get through it, as long as you know it’s OK to fail. You pick yourself up, figure it out and learn to do better next time.”

She also had an intense focus on scholarship and professionalism she cultivated during the past five years of classes through the academy, preparing her not only for classes at college but also life after school.

So she did it anyway.

College Prep Academy is designed to get Topeka students to college finish line

On Saturday, Ray and all but one of her peers who remained in College Prep Academy graduated with their high school degrees.

They are proof of the concept that such a program can work to improve college prospects for students who just need an extra nudge in one of the most diverse districts in Kansas.

College Prep Academy started five years ago, shortly after Anderson’s arrival to Topeka. To lead the program, she tapped Foster — a veteran educator who had worked with her while in Jennings, Missouri.

Although that initial cohort of 15 seventh-graders and 30 eighth-graders was the largest the academy ever admitted, cohorts have remained small in the five years since. Out of dozens of applicants and recommendations each year, the program only takes about 15 middle school students per year, Foster said, in a bid to keep class sizes low and personable.

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The program specifically targets students who can excel at academically accelerated coursework but perhaps may not otherwise receive the support they need to get to college. Students must also have good attendance records and no reported disciplinary referrals.

Throughout their school careers, the College Prep Academy instructors work with students to make sure they’re excelling academically.

“We monitor grades weekly,” Foster said. “In middle school, it was easier, since we had them with us, and in high school, we’ve had to be more proactive to check with them at their schools. We call them each week to figure out what supports they might need and make sure they do get those supports.”

Topeka's College Prep Academy graduates set high professional standard

Beside the higher academic rigor, just as important for College Prep Academy students has been instilling in them a sense of confidence and voice in their capabilities, Foster said.

Even from middle school the academy focuses on establishing a sense of professionalism among the young teenage students, with eighth-graders receiving business cards to hand out at community events when introducing themselves to adults.

“We have students who came to us with no idea of their own capabilities,” Foster said. “They did not see themselves for who we saw them as.”

Of the students who remained in Topeka USD 501, all but one of the original cohort graduated on Saturday, and many of them are on track to attend college — pursuing careers in fields like marine biology, nursing and psychology — or seek out other types of post-secondary education and training. Some already have job offers, too.

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It’s a rugged dedication to improving and learning from failure that sets apart this year’s College Prep Academy graduates from other high school graduates, Foster said.

“We did not allow them to be shy or to be fearful,” Foster said. “And if they were afraid, we taught them to be afraid, but do it anyway. That’s what separates them from others.”

“It proves that students from our schools can reach their dreams,” Ray said. “They can do something with their lvies. They can get a college education. They can go through these programs.

“They can be successful.”

Rafael Garcia is an education reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at rgarcia@cjonline.com or by phone at ‪785-289-5325. Follow him on Twitter at @byRafaelGarcia.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka Public Schools College Prep Academy graduates first cohort