Front page of the May 26, 2009, Memphis Commercial Appeal:
Whitehaven millionaires club: Teacher prepares students for scholarships
On the power of its brains and the strength of its will, the 400-some member senior class of Whitehaven High School this year blew the top off the school record for scholarships, earning a collective $13.7 million.
Gene Robinson, Karlyn Washington, Vicoria Young with calculus teacher Sparks
At the head of the WHS money heap -- graduation was Saturday at Cook Convention Center -- is Victoria Young with a cool $2.3 million, including the prestigious Gates Millennium prize, a full ride to Duke University and scholarships to 30 other schools.
No. 2 is Karlyn Washington, salutatorian, with $1.2 million; Gene Robinson, No. 3, headed to North Carolina on a full athletic scholarship, racked up $1.2 million.
Before you write them off to a random streak of brilliance, consider the power of well-intentioned math geek and calculus teacher James Ralph Sparks -- who some time ago zeroed in on the power of the ACT.
“The more math they get, the higher their ACT scores,” observed calculus teacher James Ralph Sparks, “the silver lining is, they get more [scholarship] money."
In 2002, he started the 30+ Club, an exclusive roster of students who've earned ACT scores of 30 or more. Their pictures are arranged in two big frames by the school office. College acceptance and scholarship letters for this year's class line the hall 100 yards on either side.
To make the connection between ACT scores and free rides to college, Sparks started the Fortune 500 Club two years ago. To get in, you have to have at least $100,000 in scholarships. (Sparks insists on signed letters from the colleges as proof.)
"It's actually infectious. I publish a monetary standing every week and give it to the kids. They say, 'Wait a minute, I can get higher than you.' They go crazy," Sparks said.
"We started out just trying to beat last year's class," Young said, nodding to the banner at the front of Sparks' classroom that boasts earnings of $10.8 million.
Eleven seniors earned 30 or more in the English portion; five more made the mark in reading.
When new principal Vincent Hunter and Sparks began "co-conspiring" in 2005-2006 with ACT tips in the daily announcements, awards went from $4.2 million to $6.9 million in a year.
The marquee in front of the school serves as the community scoreboard.
"Every time we get a new total, we put it up there," Hunter said.
More than 62 percent of the student body qualifies for free or reduced lunch, the federal guideline for at-risk students.
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Posted by: UK dissertation | June 20, 2009 at 02:36 AM
I read this article, when I happened to be in the Memphis airport. Great story by that school. In our town, these kids would be in the middle (at Burke).
Posted by: Joe | June 18, 2009 at 06:15 PM
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