Many students have a concept of the Student Opportunity Center as the school where the “bad” kids go.

This is probably because when students get caught with drugs or alcohol on campus they get sent there for six weeks.

What many people don’t know about the SOC  is the Alternative Learning Program that they offer to students who are behind on credits.

“I think the SOC is a place where we allow students some opportunities that are not available to them on their home campus to help them graduate with their class,”  Assistant Principal Dana Racenelli said.

Just like all the other Frisco campuses, the SOC covers everything in the Texas Essentials of Knowledge and Skills.

The TEKS are the state standards for Texas public schools from kindergarten to 12th grade.

“We have to cover TEKS, so our teachers here have to cover everything the same as other campuses. The only difference is, we aren’t locked into a semester schedule,” Assistant Principal Michelangelo Siciliano said.

Students who are apart of the Accelerated Learning Program feel as if the school has enhanced their educational experience.

“Going at your own pace just makes everything easier. I came here with 22 classes to get done, and now I only have to do three and I have only been here since August,” senior Tara Farris said.

One major difference between the SOC and home campuses are that there are no extracurricular activities for students to join.  

“Band, choir, art, athletics, drill team, or anything, you aren’t going to be able to do that here,”  Siciliano said. “So that is one of the negative things about the SOC.”

Even though the SOC doesn’t have everything regular campuses would, the students and staff manage to make the SOC feel like a home campus.

“I like how our environment is so small, where you really get to know our students. The teachers here, the ratio is about 10 to 1, so we see them being successful. We see where they struggle,” Racenelli said. “So just being able to witness that, is huge for me.”

“I feel like SOC is home. It is an original home campus for everyone here. It’s a smaller school, so you get to know everyone more at a personal level,” senior Michael Flores said. “We have a bond with everyone else here, whether we like to admit it or not, we are somewhat of a family.”

Some students believe they wouldn’t even graduate without the Student Opportunity Center.

“They said if I went back to a regular high school, I wasn’t going to graduate,” senior Sami Padroza said. “So it took me about three years to catch up and finish what I had missed, and I am two classes away from finishing now, a year earlier than everyone else is.”

“Since the SOC is actually here, some students actually get a GED. So in that way, I believe we are making a positive influence on people’s lives,” Siciliano said. “I think for some of our students, if we did not exist they would not graduate high school.”