Turnaround Grads

To cap off the year of turnaround school coverage, we asked the question: Have the worst performing schools in the Las Vegas Valley improved at all? Here are some photos from the Chaparral, Mojave and Western High School commencement ceremonies earlier this month that prove just one thing: The students that did graduate were pretty excited and emotional about it.

Graduation Fun

It's that time of year again. Here are shots of Chaparral High School students rehearsing for their commencement ceremony and picking up their caps and gowns for the big day. And don't fret... there are more shots from actual graduation day coming soon! Right now I'm almost done editing through the 1,800 photos I shot at the Chaparral, Mojave and Western High School commencement ceremonies this week and last. Graduation!

Prom Comfort

I have to admit that photographing proms is my comfort zone. Get me to a teen dance and I'm a happy photographer. I love the drama of prom; the highs and lows, the colors, the emotions and the hormones. I also love learning all the new dance moves that the kids are doing these days. One of the reasons I like photographing the teen demographic is at that age they haven't put up the barriers that most adults have settled behind. They are more open and honest. This is especially true for the current generation of teenagers, much more so then when I was in high school in the 1990s. They are so out there already on the internet, sharing every single emotion and self-portrait with the world, that one newspaper photographer following them around doesn't seem to faze them at all.

Here's a sampling of my favorites from this year's Mojave and Chaparral High School proms. Included in the documentary work is a set of black and portraits I did this year at Chaparral prom that were definitely inspired by Mary Ellen Mark's amazing Polaroid 20×24 Land Camera prom portraits.

The Final Test

It's always an interesting assignment to be a fly on the wall while people receive big news. The other week at Chaparral High School, a reporter and I sat in as students found out whether they passed or failed their Nevada high school proficiency exams. These tests are necessary for graduation. All the kids I photographed are seniors, so they will have only one more chance to take the tests. If they fail again, they won't graduate with the rest of their class. So as you can imagine, their reactions were quite powerful.

Read more about the make or break nature of Nevada high school proficiency exams here.