At a ceremony filled with pomp, circumstance and an extra serving of joy, Sarasota Acceleration Academies (SAA) celebrated its latest class of graduates.

High school can be difficult, and many students question if it’s even worth. With how challenging the coursework can be and how scheduling issues come up, it’s normal to wonder if you should just drop out of high school.

When Jayden Mixon came to Clark County Acceleration Academies during his senior year, he thought he had pushed through some serious challenges: schools closing due to Covid, a distracting social life, finding a school where he could get serious about his studies.

Alyssa Hooper had always been a gifted student, earning good grades in advanced courses and delighting in discussing the fine points of history and other subjects with teachers and classmates alike.

At her old high school in Belleview, Florida, Talea Washington got tired of less-serious students getting in the way of her goals. While Talea wanted to buckle down and learn, too many of her classmates were goofing off — to the point where teachers would sometimes just cancel the class.

Kaden Gulley is the oldest of three brothers and he wants to set a good example. “It would send a message for them to do well in school,” he says. “I’m a role model for them.”

When he was 14, Fedson Delcis got in serious trouble and ended up behind bars. While his peers enjoyed high school life — classes, homework, sports and socializing — in the years that followed, Fedson was trying to keep his head above water in the harsh environment of jail.

Austin Bernardo didn’t want to settle for his GED. So when the Washington State skies opened and poured down rain on his walk to Bethel Acceleration Academies (BAA), he would just keep on walking.

I want to drop out and get my GED.