On most days at DeKalb County Acceleration Academies (DAA), you’ll find Terrell and Jayden not too far from each other — joking, checking in on their course progress and quietly keeping each other accountable.
They’ve been best friends for nearly three years.
Long before either of them walked through the doors at the Tucker, Ga., Academy, they were already navigating the ups and downs of life and high school together.
Jayden, 17, describes himself as playful and quick to make people laugh. Terrell, 19, is more independent, balancing school with work and adult responsibilities. He got his own apartment at 18 and a car at 17.
On the surface, they’re different. But they share something important: both knew that the traditional school environment wasn’t working for them.
“It just wasn’t for me,” Terrell says about his old school.
The pace felt too slow. The structure didn’t fit his life. Between long days, bus schedules and classes that moved on whether you understood the material or not, he felt stuck.
Jayden felt it too, especially the lack of motivation. “They didn’t give me a reason to want to go,” he explains.
The final straw came for Terrell after he got himself into some trouble, ended up in jail and was suspended from his old school.
“I came from a really hard place that I was in. I thought that I was done with high school and it was just something I wasn’t going to be able to do. But, I came back from it; from that hard place I was in,” he says.
Determined to not let that experience define him, Terrell found DeKalb County Acceleration Academies. And, after enrolling, he made sure not to gatekeep the program.
He referred his best friend Jayden for enrollment through the Refer-A-Friend program, encouraging him to give it a shot.
At first, Jayden was skeptical. He thought it would be just another version of the same thing he was trying to escape. But one thought stuck with him: You can’t really do much in life without a diploma. So, he decided to give it a try.
That decision changed both of their paths.
At Acceleration Academies, school looks different. Students — also known as graduation candidates — move at their own pace. They focus on one course at a time. Teachers and school leaders build meaningful relationships with students and dedicate time to understanding each individual graduation candidate’s learning style so they can provide a personalized approach to teaching.
Jayden (left) and Terrell (right) pose with two classmates at DeKalb County Acceleration Academies.
Jayden felt the difference almost immediately.
With support from Transcript & Records Specialist Brittany Freeman, Graduation Candidate Advocate Georgia Thompson and Director Krystal Braxton, he pushed through classes that once felt impossible.
Math, which had nearly made Jayden give up, became a turning point. After two tough months and a lot of encouragement, he passed. And then finished advanced algebra in just a week. Recently, he completed three courses in about two months: geometry, advanced algebra and literature.
“The teachers are there to help you,” Jayden says. “You can tell they love their job.They take their time and help you, make sure you understand it and make sure you have the motivation to come back and keep going.”
Outside of academics, Jayden has also struggled with an unsupportive family environment. He explains that his family would tell him “you can’t do it” and “you won’t be able to graduate.”
But, he says, “With Acceleration Academies, I have the opportunity to prove you wrong. So, that’s what I’ve been doing.”
Terrell jumps in and says that his own family has become a family to Jayden over the years of their friendship.
“Me being able to watch him grow up has made me proud that I was able to help somebody,” Terrell says.
Terrell, who thrives on independence and momentum, found what he’d been looking for, too: the ability to move forward at his own pace and on a schedule that works for him.
He often works 40-plus hours each week to support himself, so having the ability to build a school schedule around his work hours is critical to his success. He’s been at Acceleration Academies for about eight months and is on track to graduate in the next five months.
But, beyond the academics, it’s their friendship that keeps both of them steady.
They’ve been through missed buses, rough school days and moments where motivation was hard to find. Jayden even jokes about a time before they enrolled at DeKalb County Acceleration Academies when he took MARTA to Terrell’s house to wake him up for school, only for Terrell to still not go.
Now, things are different. They show up. They work. And they remind each other why they’re there.
They may not have started this journey together, but they’re determined to finish it side by side.
For Terrell and Jayden, DeKalb County Acceleration Academies isn’t just a second chance at school. It’s proof that with the right support, the right environment and a friend who won’t let you quit, a different future is possible.
“I think I've grown to a much better person academically. I stay more focused … I get my stuff done in a timely manner. I'm able to be more myself because I don't feel uncomfortable there,” Terrell explains. “Just because I had one hard rock in life does not define who I am as a person. Me being able to get out of that hard place I was in shows them [his siblings] that you can do it. If I can do it, you can do it.”
Learning is more fun with friends! Be like Terrell and Jayden and refer your friends to Acceleration Academies today! Start referring to earn rewards →