Listening intently to the presentation about a charter school at Pea Ridge High School, Dakota Cody was one of the students who raised his hand when Rick Neal, school superintendent, asked if any of the students work. Cody 17, son of Breanna Abercrombie, said he works at Marvin’s IGA as a stocker/checker.
He began working there at 16.
“Most of the time, I go to school from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., then go straight to work until 9 p.m.
Then, I do homework and go to bed,” Cody said. He has a 3.7grade point average and is involved in drama.
“Most of the people I hang out with work, too.”
Cody bought a truck from a friend, earning the money fi rst and not getting a loan. He’s had to put a new transmission in it and is learning that it costs a lot of money to maintain a vehicle. He said he has two younger siblings and he works to earn money to help his mother and siblings.
“I try to help her out and get ready for college,” he said, adding that the possibility of earning $15 an hour instead of $7.40 an hour would have made a big di◊erence for him.
News, Pages 1 on 12/04/2013