Small Class, Big Ambitions

By Linh Tat, The Argus, Fremont, Calif.

Jun. 14–FREMONT — They’re used to being leaders: One girl was student-body president of Ohlone College. Another has won state and national awards for her debate team. A third student helps run his family business. The fourth is working toward a martial arts black belt.

And on Friday, the four students — who form the entire class of 2008 — showed themselves to be trailblazers, going down in history as the first class to graduate from Alsion Montessori’s Early College High School in Fremont.

The private school provides a fast-track program in which students are able to earn a high school diploma from Alsion Montessori and an associate’s degree from Ohlone College — all within three years.

“Early College High School is a bold, new direction, but now we have evidence that it can be done,” Michael Leahy, founder and board president of the program, said in his opening remarks during Friday’s commencement ceremony.

Although the class of 2008 has only four members, it has accomplished much.

Leahy is quick to boast that two of the students in the class were National Merit Scholars who scored in the top 2 percent of PSAT test takers, and that all four of the graduates are headed to a four-year university.

Tatyana Hamady, who was elected at 16 to the student body government at Ohlone College, and who went on to serve as student body president this past year, had left the Montessori program to attend a public high school for

her sophomore year.

But she returned to Alsion for her junior year, “and I haven’t ever regretted my decision,” she said.

A traditional high school may stunt one’s growth, whereas taking classes at a college has helped her mature more quickly, she said.

“To a lot of people, it looks like you’re growing up way too fast, but I think it’s an advantage,” said Hamady, who plans to study business and marketing at Santa Clara University.

Karan Gogri, 17, who plans to study English and philosophy at UC Santa Barbara, at first debated whether he should go through the early college program or attend a traditional high school.

But the son of a fast-food restaurant franchise owner who helps run his family’s business soon realized the control he had over his own education by enrolling in the early college program.

Gogri never had much interest in the sciences. Had he gone to a traditional high school, he said, he probably would have been forced to study biology. By enrolling at Ohlone College instead, he had the opportunity to choose a psychology class, where he discovered his interest in the subject.

As for the size of his class, Gogri admitted that the school was too small to offer dances every year, but the students have become a tight-knit group over the years.

“The quantity of people wasn’t there, but in terms of the quality of people, we didn’t miss out on anything,” he said, comparing the Alsion campus to a larger high school.

As for the lack of sports teams or other programs offered at larger campuses, valedictorian and debate team member Athena Bringhurst said students at Alsion get involved in such activities outside of school, so they don’t miss that aspect of socialization.

For example, the UC Berkeley-bound student said she got to experience a senior ball when she was invited to a dance by a friend at another school.

Although the graduates were pleased with their high school experience, they agreed, along with Leahy, that the early college program is not for everyone.

Students who enroll in the program should be able to work without much supervision.

“They can’t be turned off to learning,” Leahy said. “Kids who thrive in our kinds of programs are self-starters.”

Reach Linh Tat at 510-353-7010 or ltat@bayareanewsgroup.com. Read her blog postings at www.ibabuzz.com/tricitybeat.

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