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Lena Hodge and Jesse Guerra will graduate from Snyder High School in May. They are completing their last year of school at ACCEL Academy. -
The Benitez siblings, (l-r) Noemi, Pablo and Margaret, attended last week’s celebration at ACCEL Academy which recognized students for completing more than 100 courses this school year. Pablo and Margaret Benitez, who also finished high school requirements through the Academy, were present to recognize their younger sibling’s accomplishment.
On March 10, ACCEL Academy students celebrated a milestone — the completion of more than 100 units of credit for the 2015-16 school year.
Current students and recent graduates were recognized at a reception last week. Family members also attended.
ACCEL Academy, located at Snyder High School, provides a learning environment where students and teachers work together to keep students on-track for graduation, according to Christy Smith, ACCEL teacher.
ACCEL is a self-motivated program that allows students to complete most of their grade level work online through a combination of video-based instruction and one-on-one teacher guidance.
“All high school students are required to follow the same state educational graduation requirements,” Smith said. “Whether the student is behind schedule or wants to get ahead of the program. Some 25 students have completed the equivalent of 119 semesters of required course work.”
Several students have already graduated and others are expected to receive diplomas in May. This year will mark the first time that ACCEL graduates will participate in the high school’s commencement ceremony.
According to Smith, ACCEL students receive special prizes, donated by local businesses, for earning semester credits.
Two ACCEL students — Lena Hodge and Jesse Guerra — are on track to graduate with distinction at the end of this school year. With their two-year-old son, Dean, to raise, ACCEL presented the best chance for them to complete high school.
“Regular school took too much time away from my baby,” Hodge said. “I missed his first words and first steps.”
She also began to experience health problems brought on by stress and asthma.
After the first six weeks of the 2015-16 school year, Hodge enrolled at ACCEL. Guerra soon followed. They attend classes four hours a day during the week.
To get a head start on requirements for an associate’s degree in health information management from Western Texas College, Hodge said she is taking dual-credit medical classes. To qualify for the dual-credit program, Hodge said she is also taking additional high school courses.
Hodge likes that ACCEL is a self-paced program. The downside is that assignments are sometimes harder to understand.
“Instructions on the software program the Academy uses aren’t always clear,” Hodge said. “It takes more effort to figure it out.”
After graduating in May, he plans to take college classes online. His long-term goal is to become a computer technician.
Noemi Benitez, who has a three-year-old daughter, Angela, completed her high school requirements on Feb. 22 and will take part in May’s commencement.
She attended ACCEL for two years and the former Snyder Academy for one year. She is considering attending Western Texas College.
Benitez said her daughter is the main reason she chose to complete her high school education through ACCEL.
Benitez’ two older siblings — Margaret Benitez and Pablo Benitez — also chose the ACCEL route.
Twenty years ago that option was not available to their mother, Mary Ann Benitez.
“I tried to tell my teachers I did not understand, but all they told me to do was pay attention,” Mary Ann Benitez said. “Teachers then had no way to help me.”
She eventually dropped out of school. She has tried to earn a GED, but failed the test four times.
“I tell my children how lucky they are to have the ACCEL Academy,” Mary Ann Benitez said.