In The News: "Prioritizing student success in all areas"

How an alternative high school attempts to re-engage kids during pandemic

By Lauren Gallup

Thursday, August 26, 2021 11:53am

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PORT ORCHARD — Discovery Alternative High School is seeking to prioritize social-emotional well-being and holistic success for students in order to re-engage them after the hardships of the pandemic, and keep them on track to academic and life success, even while the world remains uncertain.

The school has been using three grants from the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to fund different steps to these goals.

“The grant money is kind of helping us put a picture together of how we can connect with families and students and get the support that they need to re-engage with school,” Drea Bowen said. Her organization, One Heart Wild, has provided on-site mental health support to the high school for years, funded through one such OSPI grant.

Discovery’s mission as an alternative high school is to offer “a supportive, flexible Alternative Learning Environment that ensures student achievement and develops individuals who become successful, productive citizens,” according to their website.

COVID-19 meant some kids struggled more with online school to complete classes while others stopped attending altogether. Tack on potential family, economic and health concerns, and the past year and a half has been difficult, to say the least, for high schoolers trying to graduate.

From 2019 to 2020, Discovery’s graduation rate went from 42.3% to 37.7%. For the 2019-20 school year, regular attendance decreased across the state to 82% from 83.6% the year prior.

To combat this, Discovery did something it has never done before. It held its first summer school.

Summer program

Susan Mosby, a Discovery counselor, said they had no expectations for the program but she felt they did an amazing job. Thirty-three percent of their student body participated, and the school had a 75% completion rate of classes. Four students were able to graduate.

One of those students was Kaile Wayne, who just finished her last classes to graduate and is waiting on her diploma.

Now that she’s done with high school, Wayne said she feels a lot better. “I’m really happy I got through it, even if it meant switching to Discovery. It was a lot easier there.”

Wayne had been a student at South Kitsap High School, but when the school went online, she struggled to keep up with the fast pace of classes. Attending online school at Discovery was a much better experience for Wayne. The pace of instruction and the communication from the staff made her education experience better, she said.

One of the things that made a difference for Wayne was the staff at Discovery. “They really try to get to know you and help you.”

As a high school graduate, Wayne said her next step is focusing on getting her driver’s license and obtaining a good first job.

The summer program was meant to also give continuity to students returning in the fall, said Pat Oster, Discovery principal, and letting them know someone was there for them. In addition to keeping students on track academically, Oster said staying connected with kids to make sure they were safe, fed and having their needs met was crucial...