100 percent of the 18 students graduated.
This item is available in full to subscribers.
To continue reading, you will need to either log in to your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account and connect your subscription to it by clicking here.
If you are a digital subscriber with an active, online-only subscription then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you've not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
Approximately one in five
students who start their high school careers
as freshmen in Wyoming will not make it to
graduation. There are only a few schools in
the state where every single student who enters
the doors will graduate. In 2018, Skyline
Academy faculty and staff had the distinction
of seeing all 14 students in the senior class
receive diplomas.
This achievement is even more noteworthy
when one considers the fact that the average
graduation rate for Wyoming’s alternative
high schools is only 54 percent, said Skyline
Principal Eric Makelky. The only other alternative
school with a 100 percent graduation
rate in the state is New Frontier High School
in Kemmerer.
Cultivating an environment where students
feel included and invested in their future is
the key to the school’s success, Makelky explained.
The people behind that success are
the teachers who go above and beyond to
reach out and connect with their students.
“The biggest effect on student achievement
comes from classroom teachers,” he
said. “Skyline staff have done a great job
building relationships with students, holding
them to high expectations and making
sure that our kids know graduation is the best
choice for their future.”
Building relationships
A common stereotype about alternative
schools is that they are “dumping grounds”
for students with low GPAs and test scores.
This is far from the truth at Skyline Academy,
special education teacher David Shaw said.
“A lot of students (at Skyline) have great
GPAs,” he said. “But a traditional high school
was not a good fit for them. We’re able to
structure the process to meet the needs for
each student. It’s been a process, but we’ve
refined it to a point where it’s working.”
The class sizes at Skyline are much smaller
than at Pinedale High School. This allows
teachers the flexibility to adapt lesson plans
to the individual student and spend more time
with one-on-one learning.
Each student at Skyline meets with faculty
to create a student success plan for the year
where students establish individual goals,
Shaw explained. The goals are usually academic,
but they can also focus on the personal
side, what Shaw called building “soft skills.”
A central part of the school’s philosophy is
building strong relationships among students,
teachers, staff and parents.
“We are very student-focused on the individual,”
said teacher John Snell. “We develop
close relationships with the students. We see
their good and bad days, and we focus on
what will help the student achieve success.”
An alternative approach
Skyline’s goal is to “foster an environment
where kids want to be,” said teacher Holli
Redmond. In order to build this environment
for a diverse student body, the school took
some alternative approaches.
One method is to set aside incentive time
for students who perform well during the
week. This takes the form of field trips, Friday
afternoon club time and PASS (positive
academic student’s success) time on Friday
mornings, Redmond said. PASS time allows
students to do “a special student activity”
every week, to provide a short-term and obtainable
goal for students, she explained.
Friday afternoon club time consists of a
variety of activities. Teachers get ideas from
students on what they want to do, said Snell,
and can include anything from board games
to outdoor sports, photography and cooking.
Another alternative approach is to offer
coursework in a block schedule where the
semester is broken up into manageable segments.
Students earn a half credit in a core
academic class that is offered about every
three weeks, Shaw said.
“The students get a much quicker response
this way versus a traditional schedule,” Shaw
said. “They show up and see that there’s a
light at the end of the tunnel.”
Skyline offers an “ingenuity track,” where
students who are behind in credits can take
online courses to catch up, Shaw said.
Holding students to high standards
Skyline teachers work to make sure students
don’t fall through the cracks by raising
the bar of success for each individual student.
“Our motto is to expect success,” said
Snell. “Any student who shows up is expected
to pass. If they don’t, we find a way to
make them accountable.”
Students at Skyline take the same courses
at the same level of academic rigor as their
peers at PHS. In order to pass an academic
course, students need a 70 percent or above
in the class, Redmond said. Students also
need to pass an advisory and career planning
class with a grade of 90 percent or higher,
she added.
The incentive field trips also provide a
way for students to be held accountable. Redmond
explained that students have to save up
behavioral points earned during the school
year to attend the field trips.
“Students need to be here, be respectful
and responsible and show positive relationships,”
she said.
At the end of the day, all of the above efforts
are about keeping the student in school.
“The clubs and incentives encourage the
kids to want to be at school,” said Snell.
“Part of our success is getting kids in the
doors. When they’re at school, they’ll be
successful.’