The College Plans That COVID Nearly Derailed

Amirr Frye had a 4.0 GPA, but when the pandemic struck at the end of 11th grade, he started to question whether he would even go to college.

“COVID started to take a toll on me mentally,” Amirr said recently. “I didn’t really feel like it was worth it to add this additional strain on myself when we were going through so much already.” He even considered dropping out of high school and getting a GED. He wanted to work in the music industry and didn’t see schooling as a necessary path there.

Then his grandfather stepped in and told him not going to college “would be the worst decision you could make,” Amirr said. “He’s not usually forceful like that, which meant that I should actually be taking this seriously.”

At the same time, his college counselor at Rochester Prep High School nudged Amirr toward pursuing music production in college. A former DJ himself, he would send him artists and music ideas, as well as a website where Amirr could download beats to use in producing his own music.

During quarantine, “I started listening to music more and more, and realized I wanted to make music myself. I can see the impact music has on me, and I want to recreate that impact on other people in their lives.” The counselor, Phil Hounshell, while respecting whatever choice Amirr wanted to make about his future, was clear that he was more likely to be more successful with a college degree than without one.

This fall, Amirr is headed to Rochester Institute of Technology with a full tuition scholarship and plans to major in Media Arts and Technology thanks to his persuasive grandfather and a persistent school counselor.

“The teachers that I will remember are more than just teachers,” said Amirr. “They don’t just look at you as a student, but as someone they want to help grow, they want to see you develop into a good person and put in effort into helping you out, which makes you want to put in effort in return.”

Amirr is just one of the 78 Rochester Prep High School seniors to have received their acceptance to college. Acceptances have come in to Rochester Prep students from Syracuse University, St. John Fisher College, New York University, and more.

Despite the pandemic, educators at the school continued to find ways to teach students so as not to derail any of their college plans. Nearly 80% of Rochester Prep seniors took at least one Advanced Placement class, a known pre-cursor to a college degree. Among those taking an AP course, 34% passed at least one exam—which is 10 percentage points higher than the national average of 24%.

Rochester Prep has six public charter schools in Rochester: three elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school. Nearly all of the students at Rochester Prep are black or Latino, and about 90% qualify for free or reduced price lunch.