Achievement Earns Students a Privilege

Roughly 1,000 students at Reseda High School--about half of the school’s total enrollment--were treated to an afternoon of live music Thursday for their part in a school program aimed at boosting academic achievement.

Only students who successfully met at least one of five challenges laid out by the Reseda Regents Renaissance program were eligible to attend the event, which featured performances by five musical acts, and gifts and academic awards from radio station 92.3 The Beat (KKBT-FM).

“This is the hottest ticket in school,” said Reseda teacher Doris Barela-Fossen, holding up one of the yellow slips of paper needed to gain entry into the gym. Outside, hundreds of students with passes pressed against the doors to be among the first inside.

Barela-Fossen and school advisor Jeff Halpern initiated the program at Reseda earlier this year in an effort to improve individual academic performance. A Valley business, Challenge Graphics, provided financial help.

To qualify for the concert, students were required to maintain a B average or above during the past two semesters, earn all A’s and Bs in either of those semesters, miss only five days of school in the past semester, or improve their grade-point-average by half a point in the past semester.

“When kids do well we want them to be rewarded. It’s important to focus on the positive, especially for the kids who have shown improvement,” Barela-Fossen said.

The event began with the 131 students who had improved their GPAs in the past semester receiving certificates and compact discs from the radio station. After the presentations, the first of five musical acts took the stage to begin the 1 1/2-hour show.

“This is a good treat, it’s something that helps motivate us,” said ninth-grader Tanya Legaspy, 15.

“Yeah, it’s kind of exciting with the music and the awards,” agreed her friend and fellow ninth-grader Cinthia Alvarez, 14. “Also, the boys in the band were cute.”