Principals report progress at Pride Academy, Elkhart Academy and School Without Walls

Elkhart Community Schools principals briefed the board Tuesday on three district alternative programs — Pride Academy (elementary), Elkhart Academy (high school alternative) and School Without Walls — highlighting individualized supports, attendance gains and credit-recovery outcomes.

Eric Chandler, principal of Pride Academy, described the K–5 program that serves students with emotional disabilities or extreme behavioral needs referred from district elementary schools. Pride uses small class sizes (target about 10 students per classroom), trauma-informed practices, crisis prevention training for staff, and a behavior-tracking/MTSS referral process (a “Pride Alert” form) to determine placements and interventions. Chandler said classroom attendance rose over the program's years, citing a K–2 classroom that reached about 90% attendance and that Pride ended the year with roughly 37 students after peaking near 44. He emphasized social-emotional learning tools such as zones of regulation, a dedicated regulation room, and family outreach as part of returning students to traditional classrooms when appropriate.

Brian Hamentry, principal of Elkhart Academy, said the high-school alternative program served about 150–167 students this year and recorded 23 graduates counted toward the district graduation total as of Sept. 30. Hamentry said the program showed a pass rate of roughly 70% for in-person classes during the 2024–25 school year and cited a projected 81% graduation rate for the cohort; he also described a schedule change to six-week accelerated terms that staff credit with improved student success and earlier ‘wins’ for credit-deficient juniors and seniors. Hamentry highlighted service-learning projects that connect students to local employers and public agencies, the use of Mastery Connect to track standards, and a reduction in serious physical incidents (two fights reported and a year-total of 30 incidents across categories), while noting an increase in suspensions and ongoing work to reduce verbal aggression.

Krista Henning, principal of School Without Walls, described the school's role as a credit-recovery and flexible learning site that uses Apex and Courseware platforms. Henning outlined internal controls for tracking credit completion — a district spreadsheet that counselors and School Without Walls staff use before counselors upload grades to PowerSchool — and said staff work to locate and re-enroll students over the summer; the presenter gave a specific success story of a former teen parent who graduated early and later enlisted in the military with support from the school’s TAP program and social worker.

Board members praised the principals and noted observed reductions in reportable incidents at some receiving schools. The principals said they are preparing more students to transition back to mainstream schools, increasing career-center placements, and expanding programming at the middle-school level next year.

No formal board action was required on these presentations, but the updates provided context for the district’s summer-school expansions and curriculum planning.