Program helps special needs seniors graduate

CHOICE fills gaps for students who need an extra push to the top.

Five years ago, special education teachers in Cherokee County made a discouraging discovery: When it came to graduation, special needs students were lagging well behind their peers.

“We knew we had to do something to reach them and get them to graduation,” said Michelle Duren, a special education teacher at Cherokee High. “Maybe they didn’t have the support at home or didn’t have enough credits. Whatever the issue was, we wanted to think of ways to get them caught up.”

Duren and her colleagues created an additional support system for the most at-risk students. Dubbed “CHOICE,” the Competitive High School Options in Careers in Education launched with 10 participants.

“We mapped out what it should look like,” she said. “Some students receive one-on-one time weekly or every other week. Some do makeup classes for half of their lunch period, and some stay for the whole lunch period and work on online credits. Others even come on Saturday morn- ings to work on senior projects or make up work.”

Many times, Duren discovered what was holding the students back wasn’t academic.

“Sometimes it’s as a simple as their saying, ‘I need lunch money.’ Other times they might need help with a job application. We had kids who didn’t have food at home or couldn’t afford to buy a yearbook. We help them with whatever it is they need.”

All 10 participating students graduated at the end of CHOICE’s first year, and with a proven success record, the program expanded beyond Cherokee High to Creekview and Woodstock high schools as well. In each location, the program is adapted to the students’ individual needs.

“Those needs are different in each school,” said Charlette M. Green, executive director of the school district’s department of Special Education. “Our district has about 5,500 students with disabilities, out of about 44,000 students total. But this program is aimed at those seniors who should graduate but may not necessarily have everything they need to do that. And these are the kids that, if they did not get the diploma, it would impact their earning potential for the rest of their lives.”

In the 2015-2016 school year, the graduation rate for CHOICE students was 95.8 percent. Last year’s rate climbed to 97.7 percent, with 42 of the 43 students in the program earning their diplomas. Overall, 70 of the 75 students who have participated since the program’s inception have completed their studies.

Green credits the success to more than academic assistance.

“The TLC we’re providing is not a magic wand,” she said “But it establishes a level of trust and accountability between the student and teacher. The teachers are invested in them, and they know they’ll be held accountable.”

For their part, students have responded positively to that TLC, said Duren.

“They’ve expressed a lot of appreciation for the relationships we’ve formed. They now feel comfortable coming to someone with their questions and needs, even if it’s saying they want to go to prom but can’t afford a tuxedo. The comfort of being able to ask for those things has made them more comfortable in the classroom, too. Before CHOICE, they didn’t have a lot of that trust.”

For many of her students, that trust has continued after graduation, said Duren. “I even have students who are now studying at Chattahoochee Tech come back and ask me for help with papers!”

Cherokee High School senior Lucas Jones earned his diploma through the special CHOICE program designed to boost graduation rates for special needs students.