Youth Voices: Real World Preparation at PPHS

Why I Chose PPHS

Purdue Polytechnic High School South Bend (PPHS) has been my light in the darkness! When I moved to South Bend right as sophomore year started, I was worried about finding a high school where I could succeed academically. The closest high schools to me were either too expensive or poorly resourced, so the newly founded PPHS was a risk I was willing to take.

The high school’s affiliation with Purdue University was a big reason why I took the risk with such a new school. When I tell people I attend PPHS, they’re immediately interested because of the university’s reputation. One way Purdue directly helps us is the opportunity to attend Purdue’s THINK Summer programs for free! In this program, students live on campus to take short classes that count for real credit at Purdue. I spent a whole month in the program taking a communications class with college students, and the experience was incredibly helpful for me to practice independence in a safe environment. It made college seem a lot less intimidating. The picture on the right shows me delivering a persuasive presentation to my class! 

PPHS has given me plenty of opportunities to practice various competencies beyond the classroom. For example, being involved with the student council has developed my leadership, innovation, and teamwork skills. It was founded just last year, so we have had countless learning moments while navigating how to function without a prior precedent to follow. Student council’s workload ranges from creating the yearbook to fundraising and planning for events such as Prom. While my official position for the first year was to serve as secretary, I took initiative to spearhead the creation of our first bylaws and student council election. Now, I serve as the vice president with a variety of responsibilities including leading meetings and brainstorming ideas for the next big project.

Preparing Myself for the Future

PPHS tries to cut through the fluff of educational busy work as quickly as possible to focus more on accomplishing important competencies in a hands-on way. All classes are taught with this goal in mind, but it especially shines through electives called Passion Projects. Some Passion Projects I have taken include Fundraising, Website Design, Audio Engineering, a class about what being a lawyer is like, and more. Classes often involve getting out into the community. For example, through Jobs for America’s Graduates, I competed in the Regional Career Development Conference and won second place in Employability Skills! If only I had gained one more point… Competitors prepare for a theoretical job position to go through a mock job interview with judges acting as employers. In a class about how the city works, we took a field trip to a water waste treatment plant. To be honest, it didn’t stink as horrible as I was expecting.

Since PPHS only recently opened in 2020, the school has not yet hired teachers for each subject, but the offering of online classes has helped pick up the slack. Our classes are very flexible and allow motivated students to take advantage of self-paced learning to complete classes fast enough to graduate early if they choose. Just this year we have over 10% of our juniors graduating early. In-person classes, which typically take an entire semester at another school, are condensed into one quarter called a cycle. This year, though, I have seen a few classes get extended to be semester-long. For example, there is a Microsoft Office certification class that I have been taking my last semester of high school, and it has been exciting to learn how Microsoft Excel works.

Free college dual credit classes allow students to challenge themselves further, and I fully took advantage of these opportunities. Now that I’m a senior with all my required classes finished, I can spend half of the day earning money at a job and the other half on electives. After working as a Special Projects Assistant for the organization Downtown South Bend for the past few months, I have felt my confidence as a budding professional grow. The nonprofit uplifts downtown businesses and development. I have loved receiving opportunities to network and connect more with my city. I will be majoring in Strategic Management at the University of Notre Dame before heading to law school, so relevant job experience and professional electives are crucial for my career.

Connection and Personalization at PPHS

With our small class sizes, you can develop close relationships with the school staff, whom we all call coaches. Earning the trust of all the coaches has given me flexibility and understanding to achieve my goals. If I need some flexibility to attend a board meeting at my workplace, I know our principal Coach Z can accommodate my needs. Even though we have a broad policy across all PPHS campuses that doesn’t support an official class rank, Coach Z provided me with an informal one so that I wouldn’t be disqualified for scholarship opportunities. 

As a charter school unafraid of doing something different, PPHS is full of passionate staff more than happy to support you. Whether you want to finish school as fast as possible to graduate early, or want support as you take on a variety of specialized classes or internship opportunities, PPHS is the right place for you. I encourage you to visit the school and see for yourself!

Learn More

• A Learner’s CBE Journey
• A Student Experience in a Personalized, Career-Focused Competency-Based Model
• A Conversation with Dr. Keeanna Warren of Purdue Polytechnic High Schools

Juriette Diveley is a student at Purdue Polytechnic High School South Bend that is heading to the University of Notre Dame for Strategic Management. After completing her Bachelor’s Degree, she plans to pursue law school to become a business lawyer. Involved in a variety of organizations, she practices leadership through Student Council and Youth Leadership South Bend Mishawaka, explores a passion for music through the Notre Dame Children’s Choir, and works for a greater cause through her internship at the nonprofit Downtown South Bend.