In Spanaway, Washington, Bethel School District made sure that several students who needed a different pathway to graduation would have an option. This April, 66 of those students graduated.
The program is called Bethel Acceleration Academies and it’s a partnership between the district and Acceleration Academies. The program is free to students and lets them take just one class at a time.
“Attending Bethel Acceleration Academies was 100% better than in-person school,” said Jordan Lee, one of the recent Bethel Acceleration Academies graduates. “Compared to having to go to school, the work is better than just having a bunch of math sheets or schoolwork to finish. Everything is online and easier to understand and get done. I was able to get one-on-one help from the coaches [teachers] which made it easier for me to do my schoolwork,” he added.
The academy offers a hybrid learning pathway, pairing online classes with in-person academic coaching, or a fully-virtual learning pathway for students living within 50 miles of the academy’s campus. The virtual program gives the most flexibility, said the school’s director, but without losing the personalized academic support offered by the academy staff.
Kevin Torres is the Bethel Acceleration Academies director. At the graduation day he told the students and their families, “We celebrate and recognize over 60 extraordinary students for reaching what might have felt like an impossible goal only a few years ago. These fine young people have persevered through health issues, family challenges, homelessness, poverty and other situations that could have ended any hope they had of graduating from high school.”
In her speech, Bethel Acceleration Academies graduate and graduation speaker Janniah Harris said, “I’ve been attending Bethel Acceleration Academies for about a year and a half now, and I can honestly say the young woman who first walked through those doors was nervous, but determined. And that determination is what brought me here today.”
For more than a decade, Bethel Acceleration Academies has helped students earn a district-issued high school diploma by offering a flexible learning model. Students take one course at a time through an engaging online learning platform, and they can complete assignments on their own schedule. Teachers and advocates provide academic and non-academic coaching so students can overcome any obstacles to graduation.
Bethel Acceleration Academies is Cognia-accredited and an approved online provider through the Washington Choice Transfer Program and the Open Doors Program. Students do not have to live in Bethel School District to enroll.