Innovative school getting high marks

ARLINGTON — At this time last year, they were in the cozy academic and social cocoon that is the Freshmen Academy of Arlington High School.

Now, half are enrolled at Arlington High. A quarter chose Weston Alternative High School. One in five transferred to other districts and one dropped out.

For a variety of reasons, poor grades, spotty attendance or legal troubles, they were considered "at risk" of dropping out, and the academy was started last year to serve as their safety net.

Early results show the academy is making inroads with fewer dropouts and former academy students earning more credits than similar students in previous years.

School districts across the state are watching to see how well the school does because of new federal laws that, among other things, require higher graduation rates.

Most students recruited to the academy dreaded it. They didn’t like the prospect of being one of about 50 students isolated from friends on a faraway campus.

Cody Sullivan was one of the cynical students. "I didn’t want to go," he said emphatically.

He and classmate Tim Buchanan, who has lived with him the past two years, often overslept, unable or unwilling to catch the bus on time.

They would debate who had to call Jeremy Kessel, a counselor at the freshmen campus, for a ride to school. They knew Kessel would find them, regardless.

Gradually, Cody, who routinely skipped class in middle school, found he actually was looking forward to school. "It was where we wanted to be," he said. "That’s what we wanted to do during the day."

"If it wasn’t for the Freshmen Academy, I probably would have been in the same place I was two years ago, still a freshman."

Today, he is a sophomore at Weston where he gets to school on time and on his own. He is not only on schedule to graduate on time, he could finish early.

Academy students came from a variety of backgrounds. Some had plenty of parental support at home. Others didn’t.

For instance, 13 percent reported being homeless, and 13 percent said a parent was incarcerated. Forty percent were in recovery for substance abuse, and 21 percent had been in trouble for truancy.

As an eighth-grader, Ricky Larson was considered at-risk and as a freshman at the academy he earned precious few credits. "I thought I was just going to drop out," he said.

However, during the year, he realized he could be better off in school. Now, for the first time in years, he’s passing all his classes. "This year, I am getting more credits than I ever thought I would," he said.

In interviews at Arlington High and Weston, a dozen former Freshmen Academy students told The Herald the biggest benefit was the small class sizes and relationships they were able to form with their teachers.

"They don’t just care about your education," said Jessica Johnson, an Arlington sophomore. "They care about you as a person."

Kessel, the counselor, spends most of his day at the Freshmen Academy before heading up the hill to Arlington. Although he has a new class of freshmen, he still keeps track of former students.

One by one, he calls them into his bare office. He nudges and cajoles, prods and pries. His bottom line is getting them on the right academic track. He talks with them about boyfriends and girlfriends, puts in plugs for an after-school tutoring program and tries to get at the root of their roller-coaster grades.

In general, the students have good attendance records and few discipline problems, a major improvement from middle school, he said.

Kessel also hands out surveys to students about their experience. The district is considering moving the academy to the main high school campus.

Some students — the same ones who were so resistant to going there in the first place — advise against a move. "You had to focus there," said Brett Dunnington, an Arlington sophomore who has made the successful transition there. "It’s almost like you didn’t have anyone to impress."

Although most are out of sight these days, Maurene Stanton, the Freshmen Academy and Weston principal, also is keeping track of them just the same. "It isn’t perfect, but you just kind of hope they are doing better than they would have without the academy," Stanton said.

Under new federal education requirements, graduation rates are becoming increasingly important for Arlington and other school districts across the country. The "No Child Left Behind" law eventually will impose sanctions on schools that don’t improve enough.

Stanton knows education leaders statewide are following the progress of the academy to see if the investment pays off. To pay for it, the district combined state money allocated for each student, a grant and money from voter-approved Initiative 728 that aims to improve student achievement.

"I think people are watching us to see if this model is going to work," Stanton said.

Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.

Freshman Academy Principal Maurene Stanton looked at students who would have qualified for the academy and who are part of Arlington High School classes of 2004 and 2005.