Leaving FWPA may be a bittersweet experience for many because of all the great memories that were formed. This is especially true at such a small community compared to other public schools. “I will probably miss a lot of things here at FWPA. The school itself and also the staff and the friends that I made here,” Polina Dudnic explained. Inevitiablely, people must move on in life, so what’s next in life for students? What’s after FWPA?
An option for 10th graders is just finishing high school, either at their neighborhood high school or choosing to transfer. Students may transfer to different high schools in order to get into a special program that only that school offers. Hunter McQuistin said,”I’ve already been accepted to Thomas Jefferson’s IB program, and that’s basically like advanced college level classes but taken in a high school.” The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program is a challenging program which is made to prepare students for success at university.
Another high school program 10th graders can participate in is the Cambridge program at Federal Way High School, which is an extension of the University of Cambridge Preparatory system. The Cambridge Program at FWHS emphasizes the value of a broad and balanced study for scholars, and will help students learn to use many useful skills. Both of these programs are made to help students prepare for college, but there are more options outside of high school for 10th graders at FWPA.
In 11th and 12th grade, students can participate in Running Start to earn both high school and college credits at the same time. Students will attend Highline or Green River Community College to take Running Start, and can either be a part time or full time Running Start student. Emma Lee said, “After FWPA I plan on going to Highline to do Running Start. . . I’ve heard of the benefits it comes with and honestly, it intrigued me so I was like, ‘alright you know what, I’m just going to do this.’”
A different school students could go to is Puget Sound Skills Center, spending half of their day at their home high school, and the other half at PSSC with provided transportation between the two schools. PSSC offers 17 programs with the goal of serving students interested in specialized careers and technical learning with a hands-on, workspace-oriented environment. Students also get high school and college credits.
Finally, 10th graders can apply to the University of Washington’s Early Entrance Program and if they are accepted, instead of finishing 11th and 12th grade of high school they can enroll as freshmen at UW.
As FWPA students, our horizon is vast and endless, and none of our paths are completely straight, not in the slightest. Grab the wheel Tigers, our journey isn’t over just yet.
