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23 students earn diplomas at Middle College

By J. Paul Bruton
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Jeff Thompson, principal of Middle College High School, addresses the Class of 2003 during graduation ceremonies Saturday at Joe Serna Charter School in Lodi. (J. Paul Bruton/News-Sentinel)

Middle College High School Valedictorian D'Nell Kafton knew that the typical high school was not for her. By the end of her sophomore year, feeling lost in a sea of 3,000 students, Kafton was ready to take her proficiency test and be done with high school. After talking with a counselor, however, Kafton was instead directed to a program she had heard about before: The Middle College High School. There, Kafton said she found what she was missing in regular high school.

"I felt lost at high school -- just another nameless student. I felt like I was just a number as far as the school was concerned," said Kafton as she addressed a packed house at the Joe Serna Charter School Auditorium in Lodi, during the Middle College High School graduation Saturday. "But at the Middle College High School I was able to take advantage of the opportunity to get a head start on college and get an excellent education.

"I like knowing everyone in the class and being a part of everything that we do. I was once again in the familiar environment of a small school," she said.

Compared to Tokay High School's graduating class of hundreds, the Middle College High School is indeed small, handing diplomas to a whopping 23 seniors on Saturday for the Middle College High School Class of 2003. But fewer people and more individual focus is just what these students were seeking.

Another example of the Middle College High School program's success, graduate Natasha Wilson, will go on to UOP to study psychology. Wilson echoed the sentiments of Kafton.

"The one-on-one attention and instruction you receive in the Middle College is rare, and the thing I appreciated most," she said.

Middle College High School Principal Jeff Thompson said the focus from the very start of the program has been "rigor and relationship."

Students work hard and are challenged academically, are able to establish a relationship and receive individual instruction and attention from teachers, Thompson said.

"These students are really proud of what they've achieved here. They are really academically focused," Thompson said. "Each student here will be going on to a four-year college or university, either via Delta (San Joaquin Delta Community College) after they complete transfer requirements, or directly."

Kafton, the valedictorian of what is just the third graduating class of the relatively new Middle College High School program, agreed with Thompson's appraisal of the rigor. "I definitely had to work hard to be standing here ... I'll cherish this honor always," she said.