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Davenport students head to class on a Saturday for Catch Up Academy

Students are going to school on a Saturday, and nobody is forcing them to go. It’s a new program at Davenport Central High School, giving kids a chance to...

DAVENPORT, Iowa - Students are going to school on a Saturday, and nobody is forcing them to go.

It's a new program at Davenport Central High School, giving kids a chance to stay up on their homework.

Admittedly, being in school on a Saturday isn't typically high on a student's list of things to do.

"Yeah, I should be asleep. But I'm not," Davenport Central 11th grader Claire Townzel said.

However, these students are hitting the books for a few hours trying to catch up on their work.

"What we're finding out is that all of our kids want to be successful, they just need more opportunities," Davenport Central Associate Principal Julie Heller said.

It's the second Catch Up Academy, a day where a few teachers come into their classrooms on a Saturday and help students with whatever they need.

"I had missing work. I had to bring my grade up," Davenport Central 11th grader Alexis Flowers said.

"Science, English, Art. But most importantly, we just have to get it done," Davenport Central 9th grader Xion Baker said.

About 135 students signed up, voluntarily giving up their Saturday morning.

"It speaks volumes of our students at Central. It reiterates that these kids are special. We do care, and they do care," Gear Up Iowa coach Troy Klaus said.

"Sometimes there's not enough time in the day to do all the work. So, you come on a Saturday when you have some extra time," Baker said.

The program, in partnership with Gear Up Iowa, will run six more times through this year, as more and more students look to have more academic success.

"It's decent. I don't know, I'm trying to bring it up. I only had to do a couple things," Townzel said.

"You finally do it, you get it over with and you feel a little better about yourself because you actually took time to do it," Baker said.

Even if it means coming to school on the weekend.

The Davenport Hy-Vee stores donated some breakfast food to the kids who were in class for the Catch Up Academy. More than 150 students showed up to the first event in October, and school leaders say it helped reduce failures by around 100 students in the first quarter.

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