December 27, 2024 | Jeffrey Good
An alarming rise in bullying and violence in high school has made it even harder for young people to focus on their studies and realize their dreams. Increasingly, students in search of a peaceful place to learn find their way to Acceleration Academies.
Justin Watson is one of them. A hard-working and ambitious young man, Justin found himself cycling in and out of schools where teachers and administrators seemed powerless to stop violence.
At one point, a good friend was shot to death. “When my friend’s life was taken from him, it was like a part of me had left.”
Other students suffer a different but still-painful kind of violence at large, crowded traditional schools — smirks, cutting remarks, exclusion and other forms of bullying.
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When Malu Montero Britto moved to the United States from Peru, she not only had to adjust to a new country and language, but also to hostility from her peers.
“I was nervous to speak up because I didn’t speak English and people would make fun of me,” she says. Classmates would taunt her, saying, ‘You’re dumb, we don’t understand you.”
Finally, she gave up on traditional school and decided to try for a GED. But that, too, proved a rough road; she found studying online to be isolating, and when she needed help from a teacher, it was hard to come by.
“I told myself I could do it, but it was too difficult,” she says. She lost momentum and began to despair. She told her mother, “I’m tired of being unstable. I want to graduate — and I want to start making my own money.”
Justin and Malu wanted a more peaceful place to learn, and they found it at Acceleration Academies — a growing network of high school completion programs and charter schools devoted to providing a flexible path for students seeking a high school diploma. At the academies across the nation, educators create a learning space with no room for bullying, violence and disrespect.
At Gwinnett County Acceleration Academies in Georgia, Malu found teachers, counselors and coaches who made clear that graduation candidates could focus on pursuing their dreams in a safe, studious environment. At the East campus of Clark County Acceleration Academies in Las Vegas, Justin found the same.
“It felt like home,” he says. “Kind of heaven-like. It was peaceful, it was quiet, literally no fights at all. None.”
Another student, Elijah Holmes, is a young man who was intent on earning his diploma and moving on to trade school. But at his former school, he found it hard to focus.
“There were too many fights, a lot of drama and the teachers didn’t really teach,” says Elijah. Making matters worse, bullying was rampant. When he saw a senior picking on a classmate who had special needs, Elijah knew he needed to be somewhere else.
“There was a whole lot of bullying going on and I didn’t want any part of it,” he says.
“It was hard for me to focus,” he says. “I could never focus in school until I came to Bethel Acceleration Academies. Here, I’ve changed so much.”
At the academy in Spanaway, Washington, Elijah found a calm atmosphere, a respectful social dynamic and the opportunity to focus on one course at a time. He liked it so much that he came to campus every day, making steady progress in his coursework.
If he needed help, all he had to do was look around. “I need good teachers to actually walk me through things so I can be successful,” Elijah says. “When I’m here, I can just walk up to them or go to their office and they’ll help me.”
Many LBGTQ students who have faced discrimination and bullying at traditional schools come to Acceleration Academies in search of a learning environment where everyone is celebrated for exactly who they are.
Nick Montolio came out as transgender in high school but found that teachers and administrators seemed unable or unwilling to support him — a situation that made him feel even more alone and prompted him to drop out of his former school.
“I was just really struggling with who I was as a person,” says Nick. “It was hard for some of the teachers to accept that. It was really wrenching to go through it alone and not have even counselors understand my struggle.”
When Nick decided to give himself another chance at Miami-Dade Acceleration Academies, he found teachers, counselors and fellow learners who invited him to become his best possible self.
“For young adults who are in the LGBTQ community, trans folks especially, there is a safe place to go to school,” says Nick, “and it’s at Acceleration Academies.”
Acceleration Academies cares about the well-being of high school students at our locations nationwide. Our learning model is designed to support academic and non-academic challenges that students face by providing support services from teachers and mentors, a flexible schedule, a welcoming environment, and an online curriculum. Learn more >>
