PHOTO | TROY HULL

Commonwealth High School Principal Sydney Culver says flexible schedules and support helps students complete their education mission.

John Craft needed to learn at his own pace.

Unable to balance a traditional school schedule with work, Craft’s mother enrolled him at Commonwealth High School, a charter campus that offers alternatives to public school education.

“Ever since I started here I’ve been getting things done a whole lot faster,” said Craft, who is on schedule to graduate in June. “I finished my English course for the semester within a month of being here, when that would’ve taken half a semester at my old school. I can come here from 7:30 to 11:30 in the morning and get a full day of school done within four hours. That way I can still work eight hours a day and make sure my bills are paid. When I was in school from 7:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. I couldn’t do everything I needed to.”

Commonwealth, which is located on Central Avenue, serves students ages 16-21 who have dropped out of high school or at risk of dropping out. The campus is an extension of Nashville, Tennessee-based ALS Education Inc., which enrolls 1,200 students in 23 schools in Florida and North Carolina.

Commonwealth’s instructional and support models are designed to serve a unique student population. It offers a blended learning instructional model of math and reading remediation while also catching up on high school credits at an individualized pace. In addition to the 7:30-11 a.m. class block, Commonwealth has a 12-4 p.m. session. Some students stay for the entire day.

“Flexibility is by far the best part about Commonwealth,” Craft said. “Like, even if I couldn’t come during the morning, I could also come for the afternoon session …or just come to both sessions and get even more work done.”

Students enrolling in Commonwealth for the 2017-18 academic year typically have struggled with attendance or academics at their previous schools. The average age is 17.6 years old, more than two years older than most public schools. The average grade point average is 1.0 and half are parenting, pregnant or caring for other family members and 48 percent report working a full or part-time job.

Commonwealth also goes beyond traditional schools by offering social and health services to help students focus on education, including an on-site licensed social worker, individual and group counseling, grief counseling, and medical, dental and vision screenings. Job placement assistance and financial literacy training are also available.

 “It could be anything,” said Principal Sydney Culver. “It could be we lost our home last night, we don’t have food, I don’t have clothing, toothpaste or a toothbrush. All of these things such as toothpaste and underwear, I have all that in the back because if a student has to think about where’s my next meal coming from, or am I going to eat, they’re not going to be successful in the classroom.”

Culver’s passion for academics led her to Commonwealth. She was a former English teacher, assistant principal, and assistant director of academics at Broward County, Florida’s juvenile justice system. She moved from an ALS campus in Broward to Charlotte.

Culver’s 13-person staff is comprised of math interventionists, reading interventionists, exceptional child interventionists, family support specialists, and college interns. The staff is small compared to traditional schools, but compensates with a close-knit atmosphere.

“When I walked into my office this morning, a piece of paper was lodged into the crevice of my door. It was a completed assignment from one of our students,” Culver said. “As the principal, you would think why my door, but he just wants me to know, and that’s just how close we are here.”

On average, Commonwealth students read at a fifth-grade level when they enroll. After participating in reading remediation for at least one semester, the average student is reading at a seventh-grade level. Seventy-nine percent of students improved at least one grade skill level from when they enrolled; 60 percent improved two grades and 37 percent improved three or more grades.

Cathy Garwood, who teaches English and Spanish, is invested in the future of her students. In her “push” class of seniors, Garwood’s goal is to get those students prepared to earn the final credits they need to earn the same diploma as CMS graduates.

“I really have to push my babies,” she said. “We have a lot of personalities to deal with, so we have a fun time trying to keep them motivated and keep them positive despite their surrounding environment.”

Commonwealth has grown exponentially during Culver’s three years as enrollment grows.

“Our biggest evolution, I think, would be the amount of students we have graduated,” she said. “Since I first came we’ve tripled in terms of graduation numbers. That’s been the big evolution – holding the students accountable. The best day for me throughout the entire year is graduation.

“The students understand that I care, love and treat them just how I would treat my own child, so sometimes that means talking the tough talk and sometimes it’s a hug. Everybody here believes in these kids and we believe they can do it and then they believe.”

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