MERIDIAN, ID — Preparing students for the real world is the goal of every high school, and nobody does it any better than the Meridian Technical Charter school. You would be amazed and impressed at what these students are learning on a daily basis. there's a lot going on here. Everything from media design to cyber security.
Principal Randy Yadon says it's a great alternative to the traditional high school. Yadon truly believes giving kids the skills and knowledge to go into the workplace is essential, especially in our ever-changing technological world. "What we try to do is get our students to run and control as much as the school even our technical infrastructure who's running our network that is all school kid-based programs."
One of those kids is hardly a kid. Senior Reagan Suggs is student government President, editor and chief of the yearbook and member of the National Honor Society who just happens to already have a plan. "Through my internship, that all seniors have to do, the company actually hired me on so I'll have a full-time job in my desired field right out of high school".
Junior Kayden Humphries has already made the decision to continue his education. "I want to go to college I want to go to a specialty school like M.I.T. or O.I.T."
I asked Humphries, who still has another year at Meridian Technical Charter, what he would tell anyone interested in enrolling. "I would tell them it's a good choice because I feel it gives you a more in-depth look at the computer science field it, better prepares you for what your career path is going to look like and learn industry-focused knowledge."
For a former 2016 graduate, things have gone full circle. James Saccomando is thrilled. "My official title is I.T. administrator. I sit in that room over there and make sure everything is running smoothly from behind the scenes."
Yadon puts it in perspective. "We want them to make decisions, we want them to struggle and that's what we communicate with kids and try to communicate with parents because that's the reality of work life that there will be struggles. You can't google everything."
No, you can't.
Coming up next week, I'll take a look at the Meridian Medical Arts Charter school.
