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Posted on Mon, Jan. 21, 2008 11:03 AM
School district’s help is a powerful push
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Not so long ago, Nathan Peterson was a kid who built elaborate designs out of Lego pieces.
Now he’s an academic star at Raytown High School who’s been accepted to his dream school, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Nathan’s father, Eric, didn’t finish college and works as a machinist.
His mother, Vanessa, graduated from William Jewell College but has found her career choices limited. Blind from birth, she has known the frustration of denied opportunities. That may be why, she says, she’s so determined that Nathan get his big chance.
Originally, Vanessa planned to move Nathan and his younger brother out of the Raytown School District, which serves families with a range of incomes and races, to a wealthier district.
That proved unnecessary.
In elementary school, a teacher created a special lesson so Nathan could design architectural models. A counselor sought him out in seventh grade to talk about college and career plans. Nathan’s high school chose him to participate in a leadership program at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
“My sense is that if a kid makes an effort they’ll do anything to help,” Vanessa Peterson said.
Beginning in the freshman year, all Raytown students receive information about college requirements and costs. Sessions with faculty advisers and guidance counselors continue throughout high school.
Cindy White, Nathan’s counselor since his sophomore year, said about three-fourths of Raytown High School’s graduates will go to a four-year or two-year college. She’s encouraging others to apply to trade school or training program.
“I’m so impressed with these students,” White said. “If I have to come in early and stay late I don’t mind at all, because they’re realizing their dreams.”
That’s true of Nathan, who’s had his sights on MIT since he was 10. He’s earned stellar grades and test scores, while participating in sports year-round. All he has to do now is come up with the money.
A year at MIT, in Cambridge, Mass., costs close to $50,000. Much of that can be covered by financial aid. Vanessa Peterson, who works as a secretary at a Salvation Army branch, says she’ll do whatever it takes to work out financing.
Opportunities, she believes, are meant to be seized.
Posted on Mon, Jan. 21, 2008 11:03 AM
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