I hate to be the one to tell Leslie...at age 17 I was a freshman...in college. And, I did it in Puerto Rico, a place not normally known for the quality of public schools. However, I took the time and spent the effort to actually be a better than average student, and I was able to overcome what today is diagnosed as severe ADHD. Today I am an Air Force officer and a civil engineer. The schools in Oakland might be "messed up," but Leslie, you are a big part of the problem.
****"It doesn't matter how many times we can take the test and how many years we have to prepare when our schools have been messed up since we were in kindergarten," said Leslie Santiago, a 17-year-old junior at MetWest High School in Oakland.*****
Kinda makes you wonder how the students who did earn their graduation made it.