Success High School has been living up to its name

Student attendance and graduation rate are up; dropouts are down.

Success High School in the Round Rock school district has been living up to its name: More kids are graduating, they’re going to school more often and students are waiting to get a spot there.

Making the grade has been a vindication of sorts for the alternative high school, which last year moved into a $25 million building offff Gattis School Road, just east of Interstate 35. The building was purchased with bond surplus money, prompting concerns from some school board members and the public that voters had been left out of the decision process and that the building’s price was too high.

But a year later, that criti- cism has waned.

“I knew that eventually we

would be able to show them that the investment that they made in us and our kids would end up with them being very, very proud of what we do every day,” said Thomasine Stewart, the principal of Success for the past three years.

For years, the school had been housed in portables behind Stony Point High School, where there was no running water and fuses often tripped. The school got a reputation that it was only for bad kids, and the board wanted to turn around the school’s image, starting with the new building.

Since 2011-12, the attendance rate has increased to 86 percent from 65 percent; the graduation rate has jumped to 88 percent from 53 percent; and the dropout rate has fallen to 14 percent from 17 percent. And enrollment has tripled.

In 2012, Terri Romere was the only board member to vote against building the Success campus, saying that although she supported the program, she didn’t feel comfortable leaving voters out of the loop.

A few months later, she questioned whether the district misled the board into approving the building of Success after she anonymously received attendance figures that were lower than numbers previously presented to the board — 43 students versus 139.

Although she still stands by being transparent when spending taxpayer dollars, she said Success serves a purpose in the community.

“Success High School is a great option that offers flexibility and self-paced learning,” she said. “In working with the district’s leadership, the board needs to continue to be engaged throughout the process for developing and building schools and programs so that we can lead RRISD to be the destination district for public schools.”

There are now 416 students enrolled in the school, and more are waiting to get in. They are required to attend class every day for at least four hours. Unusual for most alternative high schools, Success buses a majority of its students, so many attend school from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Most students take online courses, but teachers give them individual instruction if they need help. Because the courses are self-paced, students can graduate at any time of the year.

According to a snapshot of the school’s demographics on Aug. 31, 85 percent of the students are at risk of dropping out and half are from low-income families or homeless. Nine percent are teen parents. The school offers a wealth of services, including mentors, onsite child care, social groups, sports teams and clubs.

Although many students have fallen behind because they have jobs, medical problems or family responsibilities, some go to Success to get ahead, with some earning their diplomas before their peers at traditional high schools.

“They bring to the table their reality of what their challenges have been, and we address them,” counselor Alberto Perez said. Marianna Quiroz, a senior, has been to 12 schools. Her dad died a year ago. She said she has struggled with drugs and depression and has been to rehabilitation. When she moved to Round Rock from a rural school district four years ago, the 3,000-student Cedar Ridge High School exacerbated her anxiety, so at the suggestion of a counselor, she enrolled at Success. Now she is thriving.

“This school doesn’t even feel like school half the time,” Quiroz said. “I’m in charge of myself. Not going to college isn’t an option.”

PHOTOS BY LAURA SKELDING / AMERICAN-STATESMAN Language Arts teacher Valerie Burleigh (left) works with student Emerson Albright-Raskin. Before Success High School broke ground in 2013, some criticized earmarking $25 million to build a school that would only fifit 400 students. Today, those...

Science teacher Glenda Mosley posted an inspirational sign outside the door to her classroom at Success High. The school serves students at risk of dropping out of school, and it has produced strong results.

PHOTOS BY LAURA SKELDING / AMERICAN-STATESMAN Students work independently in a language arts class at Success High School. Since 2011-12, the attendance rate has increased to 86 percent from 65 percent; the graduation rate has jumped to 88 percent from 53 percent; and the dropout rate has fallen...

Marianna Quiroz, 18, reads and sketches in the library at Success High. A senior, she plans to graduate in 2016. Some students earn their diplomas before peers at other schools.