Broward County Student Balances School and Volleyball with New Support

As a high school student, Hailee Storm knew she wanted to play volleyball in college. 

She also knew that she fell into the sport later in life than most of the girls she played with or against, so she would need to work twice as hard to earn a spot on a college team.

Playing volleyball was her goal, and she was eager to do whatever it took to make that her reality. Even if it meant dropping out of her traditional public high school in Hollywood, FL, and enrolling in a brand new alternative high school program just north of her in Fort Lauderdale. 

For some, it might have been a risky move during a student’s senior year when college athletic scouts are recruiting for next year’s teams. But, Hailee was confident in her decision because enrolling at Broward County Acceleration Academies would give her the flexibility she needed in her day-to-day schedule to not only finish her remaining high school credits in a timely way but also spend more hours in the gym training to improve her volleyball skills, strength and endurance.

“I felt like I was wasting my time,” Hailee says. “I would wake up, I would go to school for 8 hours … I would be in classes that the teachers don’t even want to teach. When I got here I was like, oh these teachers want to teach. Now I’m excited.”

When Hailee arrived at Broward County Acceleration Academies (BCAA) — a partnership program between Acceleration Academies and Broward County Public Schools — in March, she only had 2.5 academic credits left to finish her senior year. Realistically, because of the way Acceleration Academies operates, she could finish her remaining credits in 9 weeks or less if she worked hard and applied herself. 

And that’s exactly what she did. She thrived in the supportive, small, flexible environment and earned her high school diploma in early June.

Hailee hugs a BCAA student during the academy's ribbon cutting celebration in July.

Flexible Scheduling and Support

Upon enrolling, she and her graduation candidate advocate (GCA) created a personalized learning plan that took into account her goal of earning a spot on a college volleyball team without sacrificing the importance of finishing high school. 

Hailee was able to set her own school schedule so she could complete course assignments online from anywhere, visit the academy for a few hours each week for support from teachers and spend extra hours in the gym training. 

“I took my education seriously,” Hailee says. “I have to get this finished so I can go into full training and get committed. My goal was to get committed, and having more flexibility and having that goal made me more ambitious toward getting my diploma.” 

BCAA’s teachers, also known as content coaches, worked closely with her to not only help her master content in her courses but also to overcome some of the personal challenges she was experiencing at the time. 

Hailee explains that when she transferred to BCAA, she was also going through a “depressive state” following a breakup. She wanted to get out of her old high school and away from her previous relationship and some of the people she knew there.

“Everybody just saw me as broken. They saw me as this crumbling girl,” she says. “Coming here, it was a fresh start. No one knew who I was, no one knew my story. They had an expectation for success, and I was like, ‘yeah, that’s what I want.’”

Hailee credits the team at BCAA for helping her push through that tough time. 

“When you’re rock bottom, how do you go up? When you’re that broken, you can only go up. I didn’t know I was going to be able to fix that, to be honest, and this place really helped me fix what was broken and gave me inspiration … To strive for more than just the standard,” she says.

What’s Next

Now, a high school graduate, Hailee is excited to play on the women’s volleyball team at Millennia Atlantic University (MAU) under Coach Aaron Vargas.

“You never know what you’re capable of. Strive for excellence, strive to go above, to just be better. You’re in competition with yourself. The only person you should want to beat is yourself,” she says. “Every day you look up and say ‘today we’re going to do better than yesterday.’” 

Hailee says her younger self would be proud of the person she is today, and she encourages everyone to push through the hard stuff in life and to “not take the easy route.”

“Do it for your younger self and your future self,” she says with a smile. “Just keep pushing through.”