Youth Options

Youth Options is a program for highly driven high school students, that includes a student taking classes at a college around the area and taking classes at the high school. "Youth Options is a state program, and all public high schools must advertise it to their students." Greg Benz, high school counselor, stated. He said, "In order for a student to be eligible for Youth Options they must have exhausted all of the options at the high school."

When filling out the application, a student chooses classes that they are interested in taking, but the student has to have already taken that class at the high school and can go no farther into it. Also a student could take a class at the college if the high school doesn't offer the students that class.

Natasha Mason, a Youth Options student that attends Sparta High School and University of La Crosse gives good insight on what this program is about. "I attend Sparta High School and am a youth options student at the University of La Crosse. In Sparta I take three courses in the afternoon; Pre-Calculus, Government, and E Writing; and at UWL I attend two classes in the morning; Philosophy and Minority Cultures." Natasha Mason stated.

"The applications for the semesters are always due March 1st and October 1st, then they are sent to the school board for approval of classes." Mason stated. After the school board approves the classes that you are eligible for, you wait until all of the college students have chosen their classes, and work with a counselor at the college you're attending to choose the classes that best works with your schedule," Mason said.

This program is mainly for seniors, but juniors can attend as well with a high recommendation for it. "Last year six students were in the program for the whole year, this semester there are four students in it, and next semester five kids have applied for the program." Benz said. This semester the four students who are in the program are; Natasha Mason and Kristin Barclay who attends UWL, Seth Kaffka who attends Western Technical College, and Kristin Piotrowski who attends Viterbo university.

University of La Crosse, Viterbo University and Western Technical College are the three schools that you can apply for when at Sparta High School. All three of these colleges have different requirements such as ACT score, grade point average (GPA), and the students recommendations. "For some kids Youth Options is a really good program, and others it might not be," Greg answered.

Natasha said, on about recommending other students to try this program, "Definitely, Youth Options has given me so much confidence for next year and has helped me prepare for what is ahead of me. This program has done more for me than the classes I would've taken in Sparta just to fill the time."