Newsflash

The Dragon Way

Parent Involvement

Parent involvement is crucial to the success of any school. Parents can assist in coordinating partnerships with neighborhood associations and other agencies. Parents are encouraged to participate in school activities, monitor their student’s progress, use their skills in the classroom and participate on a school committee. Youth, whose parents are actively involved in their education achieve a much higher success rate and have a better attitude toward their studies.

Applying to PCS HS

Is a simple process. A student must be 16 years of age and have attended a traditional high school or enter as a recommended Cohort Student on the first day of the school year. The interested parent or student needs to come by and pick up an enrollment packet or download the packet from the PCS website (3.5 mb). An appointment for an interview will be made and all paperwork should be filled out completely prior to arriving for the interview. The interview process takes approximately 45 minutes to an hour, and both parent/’guardian and student are required to attend. During the meeting, our principal will give a complete overview of PCS and our expectations of all students. If a student and their parent decide that our school is the place for them, one of three things happens:

  1. The student is offered an immediate opening.
  2. The student is put on a waiting list, if no openings are available.
  3. If the student has a SPED placement, a meeting must take place with the SPED Office to determine whether or not we can meet the student’s needs and if so, we revert back to one of the two options listed above.

How PCS HS Works

PCS works a little differently than a traditional high school. We have an open entry/open exit policy and as soon as a student reaches their 22 required credits, they graduate – coming back to walk in our traditional cap and gown ceremony in May. The required credits to graduate for the classes of 2011 and 1012 are:

  • 4 English credits – (8 classes)
  • 3 Upper Level Math credits
    • Algebra 1 (2 classes)
    • Geometry (2 classes)
    • Algebra 2 or another upper level math (2 classes)
  • 3 Social Studies credits
    • World History (2 classes)
    • American/Arizona History (2 classes)
    • American/Arizona Government
    • Free Enterprise – Economics
  • 1 Physical Education credit (2 classes)
  • 2 Lab Science credits (4 classes)
  • LES Classes – 2 required – Foundations and Senior Exit (many others are available)
  • Elective credits – 8 Required (16 classes)

Please remember that these are the minimum requirements at PCS. Universities also require an extra year of Lab Science, 2 Years of a foreign language and 1 year of a fine art. These are all taken under the Elective heading. PCS partners with the local junior college and the large high school, in order to accommodate some of these needs.

Many people ask: What is the cost of Attending Payson Center for Success High School?

The answer is simple, almost nothing. We are a public charter high school and at our high school as in most public high schools, education is free. We do have a nominal $20.00 book deposit fee, which is fully refundable when a student leaves PCS for any reason and all school materials have been returned.

A student is required to purchase his or her own school supplies, i.e. paper, pens/pencils, a calculator for math, folders and dividers, etc.

Dragonheart is a requirement at Payson Center for Success but what is it?

Dragonheart is Character! Dragonheart is – can it be? Voluntary community involvement.

Here at Payson Center for Success HS, there are a lot of fun activities set up for students throughout the year. Every student participates in a minimum of five hours of community involvement each and every semester that they are enrolled. The activities are not very time consuming and they are always enjoyable.

Our school provides a wide-variety of opportunities for the students and staff to give back to the Rim Country. Students who like to work with younger children are given ample opportunity to interact with them. We are actively involved with the Headstart Program sharing time with the preschoolers in Reading is Fundamental. Halloween provides an opportunity for our students to make lots of others happy by participating in Trunk or Treat through the Town of Payson.

Habitat for Humanity has reached out to our students and they have handled dry wall, shoveled trenches for footers and done general site clean up in helping build homes for deserving people in the area.

There have been so many Dragonheart projects throughout the years that it would be impossible to list them all. We have never had a problem with a student finding something that touches their heartstrings and causes them to say, “what can I do next?”

When it comes time for our seniors to graduate, those who have spent most of their high school experience with us have a hard time listing everything that they have done for Dragonheart on their Senior Portfolio. It becomes addicting. Once a PCS student has made someone else feel good and they themselves feel good, we just can’t seem to stop them, they are always looking for more, generating ideas and projects all of their own to bring back to our school site.

Just to name a few projects our students have given time to:

  • Adopt-A-Family
  • Big Brothers/Big Sisters
  • Bowling for Kids Sake
  • Christmas Tree Angels
  • Jump Rope For Heart
  • Kids’ Fishing Festival
  • Payson Food Bank (St. Vincent de Paul)
  • Payson Rodeo Parade
  • Payson Senior Center’s – Senior Prom
  • Picture Book Presentations
  • Reading is Fundamental – A Partnership with Headstart
  • Rim Literacy
  • Senior Easter Basket Project
  • Student Mentoring at RCMS
  • Study Buddies
  • The Ambassador Program
  • The Payson Humane Society
  • Young Author’s Day