It wasn’t so long ago that Bo Falcon felt lost, struggling with mental health issues, abusing drugs and straining to put one step in front of the other. As for high school, Bo says, “I was actively not doing any work at my old school, not caring.”

When it comes to describing her experience at Lowcountry Acceleration Academy, LaDayshia Tavelle doesn’t mince words.

Cassius Murray is a quick study — so quick that they can lose ground when asked to move at the same pace as most of their classmates. “I almost ended up failing 8th grade math because I knew all the stuff and lost focus.”

Before Aleizha Keliikuli-Kuhia (they/them) and their family moved to Las Vegas from Hawaii in January, they lacked the motivation to show up for class, do homework and lay the groundwork for their future.

During the first semester of his senior year at a traditional high school, Ja’Kerien Sutton was on track to graduate with his class. But then an altercation with another student turned ugly and — just like that — Ja’Kerien’s dreams of graduating, going to college and playing football in front of...

When the Covid pandemic shut his public high school in 2020, Bryce Johnson didn’t spend the long months toiling away at home via a remote learning program. He got a full-time job as a construction worker and focused on supporting his family and establishing his adult life.

For best friends Magalie Salas and Celeste Medina, high school had never been a comfortable fit. Volatile social dynamics, a need for more personal attention from teachers, and the isolation of the Covid pandemic created a miserable mix.

When Marrah Murray-Rodriguez arrived at Miami-Dade Acceleration Academies, she didn’t have a laptop computer. She didn’t have a cell phone. And she didn’t have many people in her life cheering her on.

When Lilly Fotheringham got pregnant during her junior year at her old school, she despaired that she wouldn’t have the time to fit her high school studies in with her responsibilities as a new mom. She tried virtual school for a while, but that didn’t work either.