Jennifer, Valerie and Dominic Amador are three siblings from a close-knit Texas family. When the trio decided they needed a different kind of high school, they took care of themselves and each other in the way they always do — together.

For Michael Demara, family comes first. When his family moved from a small, overcrowded apartment into a more spacious home after his junior year, it brought a welcome change to their lives.

The latest crop of graduates from Bethel Acceleration Academies in Spanaway, WA, recently strode across the stage and celebrated the diplomas they worked so hard to earn.

Kendall Mast had never felt at home in the hurly burly of traditional high school. Throw in a series of family moves and the challenge of finding a stable school environment became that much steeper.

Diago Harris ran with a rough crowd and, before long, lost interest in school. He dropped out, landed a job in construction and, for a time, felt like his life was on a positive trajectory.

For Bryce Dittman, a traditional high school with its bustling classrooms and hectic hallways proved an exercise in distraction. “It was a draining environment,” he says. “I couldn’t really learn.”

Pedro Suazo is 20. It wasn’t so long ago that he thought he’d never walk across the stage to receive his high school diploma. The seemingly mile-high obstacle in his way — geometry.

When Reannah Bautista became Acceleration Academies’ 5000th graduation candidate this week, she didn’t just create a milestone for the nationwide network of personalized high school programs.

Bryanna Olalde’s mom came to South Carolina to give her children a shot at a better life than they might have had in Tijuana, Mexico. The key to that life, she firmly believes, is education.