Bringing Non-Military Options To Cross Keys High School

Student Career Alternatives Program(SCAP) participated in it's third career fair at Cross Keys High School yesterday. SCAP has had lots of opportunities to set up exhibits at Atlanta area high schools over the past two years but Cross Keys is always a special experience. The school just always seems to do the best they can with little resources, and their counseling staff goes a little farther to make sure the student body has a many options presented for their post high school paths as possible.

It's SCAP's belief that the more opportunities a community has access to, the more they thrive. Presenting those opportunities can be a challenge at Cross Keys these days. They have one of the largest percentages of undocumented students in the Atlanta metro area. With the recent decision to essentially bar undocumented students from attending five of the most popular publicly funded colleges, many Cross Keys students have just had several opportunities taken off the table for them. Sadly the board of regents will likely push for a similar decision on every public university in the state, despite the fact that undocumented students currently pay out of state tuition, and implementing a check on status for all Georgia college students will cost thousands of dollars.

One of the great things about SCAP is that we focus on the many under promoted post high options, options that are almost never talked about on high school campuses. Our "It's My Life"(http://scapatl.org/page1/page1.html) career guild explores dozens of opportunities to build careers that don't require a social security card, or a college degree.

Yesterday we gave out dozens of copies of "It's My Life" and talked up Atlanta based opportunities with students, faculty, and parents.

We also had the chance to discuss the realities of life in the military, and give folks the real deal on the legalities of the enlistment contract and how the benefits promised by recruiters often play out in real life. Our hope is that young people have all the information before they enlist into military service.

We also had the chance yesterday to award a bright young man, Javier Garcia, with a pair of tickets to the Atlanta Aquarium. The tickets were donated by SCAP organizer Josie Figueroa.

SCAP Needs Your Help

We have more schools to cover then we have volunteers. If you're interested in becoming involved with SCAP please email scapatlanta@gmail.com.


Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee