PLENTY OF LEARNING STILL FILLING HALLS AT OLD SCHOOL
By Linda Haase — Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Delray Beach, Fla. – September 28, 2005 — It's been a month since the big move, and Atlantic High School's hallways are bustling.
Students and staff — many reluctantly — left behind their 56-year-old alma mater, with notices of events still pasted to the walls.
But the "old" Atlantic High isn't empty. The Seacrest Boulevard site is shared by an alternative high school, an adult education program and about 50 workers from the exceptional student education department, who moved from their Boynton Beach offices.
There also are plans to sell 9 acres of land to Delray Beach to build a soccer field and 1 acre to the county to expand the adjacent aquatic center.
And after spring break in March, students and staff from Rolling Green Elementary will move in while their new school is being built. In assembly line fashion, they'll move out in summer of 2007, Forest Park Elementary staff and students will move in and stay until 2008 when their new school is completed. The musical chairs begin again in the fall of 2008 when Plumosa Elementary students and staff take over the hallways while their new school is being built.
The alternative high school students and the elementary students will be on campus at the same time, but the younger students will use the main campus while classes for the older ones will be in the annex, separate from the main campus.
If all goes as planned, at the end of 2009 Atlantic will be torn down — except for the auditorium — and a middle school will be built on the property, said Joseph Sanches, chief of facilities management for the Palm Beach County School District.
But for now, the Life Skills Center, an alternative high school education program, is settling in with its 300 students. They are the kids that aren't on track to graduate, that have below a 2.0 average, that have repeated ninth or 10th grade. Some have attitude problems, others might be pregnant, have small children at home or be in foster care. Others need a small school environment.
"A lot of kids can't handle the social setting in high school. They get lost in the shuffle. They can't get all the attention they need," said Principal Anthony Hamlet, a former Royal Palm Beach High assistant principal.
Although Bradley Busbee knew he was flunking at Boynton Beach High School last year, he didn't do anything about it. When a dean suggested the Life Skills Center, he grudgingly agreed to give it a try.
"Last year, I slept all day in school. I slept in the morning because I was tired, and in the afternoon because I was bored," said the 17-year-old. "I came here with a bad attitude but that has changed. It's easier to focus here. I'm more motivated, and I haven't fallen asleep."
The school is run by White Hat Management, an Ohio-based company that opened two other centers and a charter school in Palm Beach County this fall.
"Everyone here works at their own pace; there is nobody competing. They don't become disenfranchised and lose motivation. That's the beauty of it," said Hamlet, an Atlantic High alumni. The school, infused with computer-driven technology, has three, four-hour sessions that students can pick from — but they also must have a job or do community service. There are five adults (three certified teachers and two aides) per 33 students, he said.
Students spend three hours in computer lab, where they work on various subjects, then an hour in "off line, life skills" programs — everything from learning to manage money to FCAT prep. "We are here to educate, innovate, inspire and love. That's White Hat's philosophy," Hamlet said.
There also is a vocational specialist and a family advocate on site, said Cathy Wooley-Brown, White Hat's executive director of Florida. They are an integral part of the program, she said, and help students with everything from finding a job to controlling anger.
The school is focused on making sure students graduate with a diploma and a new attitude toward life. "We don't even discuss the GED. Our goals are to make sure the kids pass the FCAT and get a regular diploma. I can't stress the importance of this enough. It is the ground base for everything. Even McDonald's wants people with diplomas," Hamlet said.
That message hasn't been lost on Sade Franks, who wakes up at 5 a.m. and takes two buses from her Lake Worth home to get to the 7:30 a.m. session at the center. "This makes me want to come to school. It is giving me a second chance. Getting a diploma is my life now. I want to be an architect," said the 17-year old, a former Santaluces student. "I like being able to work at my own pace. I used to have to rush and get things done and even when I tried hard, I couldn't get a 2.0."
It's easier to focus at Life Skills, students say, because there aren't the usual high school distractions: there are no proms, no extracurricular activities, no lunch periods, no football team and no time to get into trouble.
"I never used to think much of school. I thought I'd get through, then get a little job and get money on the side by doing something stupid," said Busbee, who wants to be a music producer. "But I'm not in a fantasy world anymore. I'm on a smart track. I'm living in the real world. And sooner or later, I know I'm going to get that diploma."