Gustavo Osorio Beltran
Submitted photo/Stand For Children
By Gustavo Osorio Beltran | Phoenix
OPINION — When I first enrolled in Camelback High School as a freshman, I was nervous. Everyone talks about how difficult the transition is between middle and high school.
Not to mention how important ninth grade is to our futures. Success in freshman year is a better predictor of high school graduation than anything — race, gender, income or test scores.
That’s where programs like 9th Grade On-Track come in. I’m so grateful my school had this program to help me successfully transition to high school.
One of the key elements of the program is “advisory” — an opportunity for teachers to intervene early when their students are falling behind. But it’s more than that. It’s an opportunity for teachers to mentor students and help us be successful in high school and beyond.
It didn’t just have an impact on my freshman year. Being on track to graduate, I could take classes that would not have been available to me if I had to retake classes instead. I enrolled in an early college program and completed almost an entire year of college while still in high school.
Now, I’m at Arizona State University, studying to become a dermatologist physician assistant. I’m the first in my family to go to college. 9th Grade On-Track helped me get there.
Over the last three years, the Arizona Legislature funded small grants to help support my school — and others around the state — provide 9th Grade On-Track programs. But this funding has not been included in any FY 2027 budget proposals.
I hope that in the end this funding is in the budget. Last year’s $3.4 million helped 22,000 more students get the benefits I got. That seems like a really good deal to me!
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Keywords
Arizona,
Arizona Legislature,
9th Grade On-Track,
school,
funding,
2027 budget,
students,
Arizona State University,
Camelback High School