Alternative Education Program for District 228 Opens Its Doors

In America, despite the necessity of a high school diploma for almost every job, kids are still dropping out of high school. According to U.S. Department of Education, 5.9% of American teens drop out of high school which equates to approximately 2.5 million kids. Out of the 2.5 million young adults, there is a segment known as “event dropouts”. These are kids who drop out after a significant event occurs in their lives, such as an illness or family event, which forces them to become so behind in high school, that at some point, they give up.

School District 228 has taken a significant step to get its most vulnerable students the individualized help they need to get back on track. Bremen High School District 228, partnering with South Suburban College, opened its new Alternative Education Program, “The Delta Academy" at South Suburban College’s Oak Forest Campus in August of this year.

Since 2008, District 228, has had a program in place for students struggling in the traditional school setting. They realized that although many were successful in completing the program and graduating on time, a significant percentage was not. The Administration of District 228, determined that this was not good enough, and decided that these kids were worth the effort, time and money needed to improve the system to make sure that nobody fell through the cracks.

Delta Academy, the name of the new Alternative Education Program for District 228, opened its doors on August 21st of this school year and is a breakout pioneer program in this specialized area of the education system for the Southwest area of Chicago.

Delta Academy has taken 21st-century technology, paired it with individualized attention, and partnered with South Suburban College to provide a great atmosphere where these students can thrive. These kids who have been labeled as high risk for drop out, can not only learn in a new environment with the resources they need but start to think about their futures and the steps necessary to achieve success.

The Delta Academy is located on the second floor of the South Suburban College campus in Oak Forest and is a welcomed change of scenery. South Suburban College has generously donated a considerable space for the Delta Academy to grow and thrive. Students receive live task instruction with 9 staff members, flexible accommodations and a full-time counselor on site for guidance. The program has both, a day and night program which provides the needed flexibility that is many times required for success. The students have the chance to take a college class at the same time they are finishing up their requirements for graduation. This establishes a smooth transition into college with a foot already in the door at South Suburban.

The new program will focus on three areas:

● College and Career Readiness - to provide a variety of pathways to meet students’ needs whether to just complete his/her diploma, pursue an industry certification and/or begin taking general education college courses to transfer to a four-year program.

● Life Skills - to assist at-risk students in navigating successfully through school and developing a future plan beyond high school.

● Social-Emotional Interventions - to support at-risk students with career/college counseling, executive functional skills, communication skills, and mental health support.

The 135 students who are involved with the program, were handpicked from the four high schools to participate. They are seen as having the potential to graduate on time with success in the program.

The students are loving the new environment and the new program. Tremain King is 17, a senior at Delta Academy, attended Hillcrest High School and is planning to apply for the Air Force. Deontae Jones, is 16, a junior, attended Tinley Park High School and is planning on getting into the trades. Jose Martinez is a senior from Bremen High School, will be transitioning into the EMT program at South Suburban and is slated to begin classes for the program this year. They see themselves finishing high school and succeeding in their future plans with the help of the Delta Academy.

Corinne Williams, the Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning for District 228, is credited with this new and innovative idea for learning. After she saw that young adults were slipping through the system, she knew that improvements needed to be made. Erin Collins is the new Alternative Education Director and is excited about the possibilities of the new program. It will be her job to oversee and guide the new program and she is expecting great results. “I am most excited about this program because I believe in it and in our students. I feel as though this is a one of a kind opportunity to give students the chance to push themselves and prove their potential,” says Collins.

Collins expressed her hopes for her students and the program. She realizes that each of these young adults has their own story, their own learning style and their own dreams for the future. "We are here to help all of our students succeed in whatever they want to do," she said when asked what the major goal of the new program is. This is a highly comprehensive program and leaves little room for failure. District 228 is very happy with the end results of this undertaking and hopeful that the ultimate results will benefit these young adults and boomerang them into success.