Oak Grove High School
285 Blossom Hill Road, San Jose, CA 95123
Principal, Carol Blackerby – Facilitator, Jay Braun
At Oak Grove High School, during the first semester of the 2009-10 school-year, 22 students enrolled in the 180 Degrees Program and 22 remained active at the end of the first semester.
GPA’s available for 21 of the 22 students that remained in the program was 0.87 before the course. At the end of the first semester, their average GPA improved to 1.78, representing a 105% increase.
Full day absences of the 22 students that completed the program revealed a total of 157 absences the semester before the training compared to 61 during the first semester, representing a 61% decrease. Average daily attendance in the 180 classes was 97%.
Disciplinary incidents records were available for 21 of the 22 students that remained in the program, revealing a total of 3 incidents the semester before the training compared to 1 during the first semester, representing a 67% decrease.
Student Comments
The following excerpts were taken from written comments by Oak Grove students regarding the 180 Degrees Program:
“From the 180 Program, I have learned not to give up. I have put in my head that giving up is killing your dreams. I have learned that keeping your dreams alive is a key way to get up every day; it is like living for a reason. Walking on a dream is what I like to call it.” Hilaria
“So far this year I have learned about a lot of things in my 180 handbook. For example reading the book taught me about goals. It also taught me how to break a habit in 21 days. It taught me how to put myself in somebody else’s shoes, which is called empathy. The book is very good for students because it teaches you about good choices.” Jenkia
“I was failing badly and I saw my grades and I regretted doing poorly, but now that I see my grades, I’m proud of myself and so are my parents. I thank you guys for giving me the chance to make up my credits and this program is great.” Alex
“I learned to accomplish goals and how to set them. I also liked the chart of where and how you spend your time. It made me look and realize what I do all day. I learned the seven ways that people procrastinate.” Araceli
“After doing some of work in the 180 book, I have learned to make time for myself to do my homework and that how one hour could make a difference. So now every time I go home, I don’t go on the computer or turn on the TV, but I go to my desk sit down and do my homework. Now my GPA is a 3.3. I am happy about my grades but I still want a 4.0 and I will get it. One hour a day will get me there. Another thing that I remember in the 180 book is that when you’re fighting about something because I fight with my mom a lot, over some things and I remember to always think about the person’s point of view. Before I thought I was right every time my mom said something to me. Now, I think about how she would think and the fight would not start.” Kevin
“This program has helped me in improving my grades and it has a lot of lessons that could help people in their own ways. It also made me realize how there are values in every perspective.” Marisol
“The 180 Program helped me a little bit. It made me open my eyes to good things, make good choices and plan my future. Mostly each topic I learn something new and I get good advice. I didn’t really have weakness, it’s just good information for everyone. The one that I mostly like was the one on critical thinking. This chapter made me think a lot about my future and to get organized. I learned not to be lazy, to ask questions and to do my homework on time. My GPA went up, way better then when I was as a freshman. I do recommend other students to learn from the 180 program. It would help you change how you are and plan out your future, and have more time for everything else you do in life. The other chapters were good too. Thank you for the 180 program.” Martha
“What I learned in this book is that I have to be a good person to everybody. For example, I used to be very bad last year. This year I have been very good. I stopped paying attention to what all my friends tell me to do and I don’t make my mom mad any more. Another thing is my grades. This program made my grades really good because, last year I had 4 F’s and 1 A and 1 B and now because of this program, my grades have been up. Now I only got C’s and 1 F, so I improved. This program really helps me a lot.” Diego
“This book helps because it helps me in life. It helps me in time when I need to do homework and don’t spend time doing other stuff. It helps me to see the other point of view when I’m fighting. I was happy when I saw my GPA from this year. I really like this book because it helps me a lot in making good decisions. Now I have some goals.” Sandra
“The 180 book has taught me to go home and do my homework before I go hang out with my friends.” Adrian
“I liked the 180 program because it helped me think trough things more often and helped me be more responsible. I also liked the way it helped me set goals. One of the things I liked the most is how to helped me make good decisions and not to screw up my life. Every time I get into a fight or something, I will listen to the other person’s point of view.” Brandon
“The 180 book helped me out a lot in my life. It helped me understand myself better. It changed the way I think of life. I now can control my emotions. I now procrastinate less, and I am starting to think logically. In the beginning of the year I wasn’t very serious about this class or school at all. And after a few weeks of doing the 180 book, I started to enjoy coming to this class and school. The book also helped me improve my communication skills. I can now get along with my parents even more than before. I learned how to think before I act because everything has a consequence or outcome, good or bad. Also I am more outgoing and more open to making friends in other cultures or ethnicities. I learned that I shouldn’t judge someone by their looks because I don’t know them and he or she can be a really cool person.” Jonathan
“This program really helped me understand how to do things in life and have a different perspective in life with every choice I do and I think about it first then I do it if I know there isn’t any consequence. It also helped me set goals in my life so I can graduate from high school. This program does help in a lot of places. I suggest this program to other classmates or school mates. I did like this program. It really helped me.” Ismael
“In my own reflection of the 180 degrees book, it is a good way to give ideas to have courage and strength. It helps our way of thinking and especially our values which mean a lot. In the beginning of the year it made you go over what you truly do go through in our life and gives ideas about perspective and values. However, the book helps us reflect on our own future and helps you to have great ideas.” Monica
“180 is a great program. It helped me on how to organize my things. I like the program. It taught me a lot of great things. It showed me how to make good decisions. I also liked how we talked about our values in class. It also made me more thoughtful about things that I’m going to do before I do them. We compare our GPA from last year to our new GPA from this year. Now I learned to organize my time like when I do my homework.” Efren
“I liked the 180 program because it made me learn and it had good discussions. I learned that it is important to set goals in your life. Goals are what helps you stay on track throughout your life. It also helped with my grades and attendance. I compared all that to last year and its way better.” Daisy
“In the 180 Program I learned that I’m more left brained then right brained and also the book helped me be more time worthy with what I do in life. It also helped me to not procrastinate as much. So now when I have to do something I do it A.S.A.P. instead of waiting till the last minute to do it. I would usually do it the last minute. I think you should give more examples for the left and right brained section and you should talk more about choices and decisions and give more examples in the chapter.” Paul
“Thanks to the 180 program book I am becoming a better student. I am studying for tests and I always give myself an hour when I get home and don’t go straight to the computer. I know to always rethink a situation or problem, like whenever; I’m getting mad at a parent or even a friend.” Aaron
“I learned how to make right decisions and choices and how to think about doing something before I do it and possibly regret what I’ve done. I set goals and learn what I need to do to achieve them.” Jeremy
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