As South Carolina School Choice Week approached, the father of a Lowcountry Acceleration Academy graduate appeared on a popular radio talk show to praise the way the school and its team of educators had helped his son and a friend turn their high school careers around.
Archie Jackson Sr. said his son had fallen far behind in a traditional high school, then switched to LAA in a last attempt to earn his diploma.
“When he first started this school, his education was so far behind, it wasn’t funny. Because all he was was an extra body in the classroom. You know, the teacher didn’t have time to stop for him,” Jackson told host Fran Holleran on the Kids First radio show aired during the afternoon drive on The Point radio (100.7 FM, 1470 AM).
But that changed the minute he walked through the doors at LAA’s campus in North Charleston. “Once he started this school, I mean, he accelerated so much,” Jackson said. “And all the teachers, you know, they hold you accountable for what you do.”
Jackson was joined on the program by Chris Neeley, Superintendent of the South Carolina Public Charter School District. Neeley said that LAA is an example of the educational innovation available at charter schools.
“For 150 years, we’ve had this factory model,” Neeley explained. “And now we’re getting back to our roots. Make it smaller, make it more personalized, where kids can master the subject matter before they move on.”
Like all public schools, LAA offers a standards-based education free of charge to students and their families. By choosing to enroll there, Archie Jackson, Jr. was able to take one course at a time, moving on only after he had mastered the subject — and to take advantage of one-on-one coaching whenever he needed it.
Every time his son or another student — who are called “graduation candidates” to remind them of their goals — successfully completed a course, the achievement was announced to applause from the entire school. And when Archie Jr. would bring home another course completion certificate, his dad would affix it to a Wall of Success he created.
Archie didn’t succeed alone. He also told his good friend Nick Porter about LAA — and just in the nick of time.
“Nick was waiting on his turn to just drop out,” Archie Sr. told the radio audience. “He was giving up on the education because nobody in the school was challenging him to stick through with it. So (Archie) Junior, said, ‘Look, man, you need to check out this school I’m in.’ “
“Nick goes, ‘Why?’
“He said, ‘Dude, trust me, you’re gonna need that high school diploma. If you have a question with anything, you get up. None of the teachers are gonna knock you. None of the teachers are gonna talk down to you. All the teachers are gonna look at you, point blank and work with you on your level. So Nick signed up.”
And both of the young men recently walked across the stage to receive the diplomas they had worked so hard to earn. Celebrating with them were not only family and friends, but also the teachers who had encouraged them — and also held them to a high standard.
“I think the biggest motivation there is they’re held accountable,” said Archie Sr. “I love it. Like you said, that is the one of the best words that you could possibly hear nowadays.”
Lowcountry Acceleration Academy accepts new students on a rolling basis. For more information, check out the academy web page and fill out an online enrollment form.