CLARKS SUMMIT - Pennsylvania first lady Susan Corbett set her sights on a school in the Abingtons months ago - well before she launched her statewide initiative aimed at increasing high school graduation rates.
Not because the school lacks instruction or direction. Rather, because it's an "excellent example of how a school should keep its students engaged," she said.
On Thursday, as part of her Opening Doors initiative, Mrs. Corbett visited the Abington Heights Middle School, where she spoke to an estimated 1,100 students about the importance of education, courage and work ethic.
"What you are learning right now will help you down the road," said Mrs. Corbett, addressing the hundreds of students and faculty packed into the school's auditorium. "I applaud the school administrators and faculty for their commitment to ensuring promising futures for Pennsylvania youth."
Launched in June, the Opening Doors initiative focuses on identifying middle school students who are likely to drop out of high school and then providing them with guidance and support.
Statistics show 80 percent of students in the state graduate high school - meaning one in every five is left behind. She said after-school programs, such as the one offered at the middle school, are the key to keeping students engaged and will help to raise the graduation rate to 90 percent by 2016.
Introduced more than 10 years ago, the middle school's after-school program offers 41 different activities and clubs, ranging from glee club to flag football.
"Research suggests that kids are more likely to get in trouble when they aren't supervised - normally when they are home by themselves after school," said Eduardo Antonetti, the assistant principal at the middle school. "It's an essential opportunity for students to do things that go beyond the classroom and interact with other students and faculty."
After Mrs. Corbett's 30-minute speech, school administrators took her on a tour of the middle school - leading her through the TV studio, while also making stops in the library and science room.
The tour was briefly halted when two students, fifth-graders Kayleigh Glennon and Olivia Hancock, stopped Mrs. Corbett and asked if they could interview her for their school project.
"What do you think about bullying?" Kayleigh asked, before realizing she hadn't hit the record button on her camcorder yet.
"One of the reasons kids stop coming to school is because they get bullied," Mrs. Corbett said. "That's why I was so excited to see the anti-bullying signs lining the walls here."
Afterward, Kayleigh rewound the video to review the roughly three minutes of footage the girls had captured.
"I can't believe I got to speak with her," Kayleigh said. "I've never done anything like that before. She was so nice."
Contact the writer: miorfino@timesshamrock.com, @miorfinoTT on Twitter