Interview with OFC Student

I interviewed an OFC student who is a senior at BHS. This student has been in the program since sophomore year.  He or she wished to remain anonymous, so I will not include his or her name in this information:


How long have you been in the Opportunity for Change Program?
Since my sophomore year

Why are you in OFC?
Well my freshman year I was doing okay in school, then in my sophomore year I started to mess up.  Just stopped doing my homework and then I was failing a lot of my classes.  My parents didn't know what to do with me, so somehow OFC just came up and before I knew it, I was in the program.

What are the major differences between OFC and mainstream BHS?
Umm, the major difference between OFC and regular BHS is the issue of freedom.  At times I feel as though I'm a prisoner and have no "get-out of jail" free card.  I liked the freedom I had in the regular system and wish I didn't have to be in this program.  And you are in the same classes with the same people for hours and it can get annoying at times.

So I guess I don't need to ask which system you like better: OFC or reg. BHS?
Haha. Definitely regular BHS.  I have so much more freedom.

Are you trying to get out of OFC?
Yeah. I really want to go back to the regular BHS, but my parents think this is the right program for me.  They still don't completely trust me and stuff and this OFC is helping me get back on track and helping me do better in school and stuff.  But this is my last year in high school, so I mean it really doesn't matter at this point. Just going to finish out high school strong.

Have you gotten better academically - grades and GPA wise?
Yeah I have.  I did good in high school freshman year - had a B- GPA.  Then sophomore year I messed up a lot and it dropped a lot.  Got too many D's and E's.  But OFC has helped raised my GPA, right now I'm a 3. something.  The work is a lot easier and stuff. And because we only study one thing at a time, it's easier to learn the stuff better.

Do you know people who have left OFC and returned back to the mainstream? If so, how are they doing?
I do. One of my good friends left a couple years ago.  I'm not sure how he's doing academically really, but he seems mad happy and seems to be enjoying regular BHS.  He always talks about how he's really happy that he got out of OFC. He didn't really like it here.

Do you have any plans for after high school? College, job? Do you think OFC has helped you with preparing for things like this?
I want to go to college after high school.  Not really sure where though, but no where far. A lot of OFC grads go to UMASS schools, so I will probably go to one of these.  Not sure what I want to do for a career, I'm still thinking about this.  And I guess OFC has helped with preparing me.  My GPA is better, so this helps when applying for college.  I did focus a lot more on my studies when I got put in OFC too.  S I guess it's helped me..