Woodland Middle School students learn about educational choices, pledge to finish high school

WOODLAND — Eighth-grade students at Woodland Middle School recently had the opportunity to learn how decisions they make about their education will affect them in the future through an interactive workshop called CHOICES. The two-day workshop used two class periods (one each day) to address “the epidemic of students dropping out of high school across Washington state and the entire country by showing students the advantages of finishing high school,” according to a news release. Students participated in a number of activities including identifying which careers would be available to an applicant depending on three different educational outcomes: high-school dropout, high-school graduate and post-secondary education including apprenticeships, trade school and college. At the end of the workshop, students signed high-school graduation challenge certificates, pledging that they intend to finish high school and eventually earn their diplomas. Zaheen Khan, a community outreach specialist with Fibre Federal Credit Union, encouraged students to make the right choices for themselves and their futures. “Life is all about the choices you make in your middle and high school careers; those will determine how many choices you will have for your life after you graduate,” he said in a news release. Companies interested in working with Woodland Public Schools’ Career-Life-College can contact Assistant Superintendent Asha Riley at 360-841-2700 or rileya@woodlandschools.org. To learn more about CHOICES, visit www.choices.org.