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Warrensville Heights superintendent outlines Fresh Start Academy pilot for middle-school students
Summary
Superintendent Jolly introduced a Fresh Start Academy pilot aimed at providing intensive support for middle-school students with behavioral and social-emotional needs; the program would place roughly a dozen students into a self-paced, staff-supported setting with partner-provided after-school services and quarterly reporting to the board.
Superintendent Jolly introduced the Fresh Start Academy as a targeted intervention for middle-school students the district has identified as needing intensive support.
Jolly described a model adapted from a previously used high-school self-paced academy: selected students would receive a self-paced curriculum with a dedicated staff member (a substitute with teaching experience) providing daily support. He said the district has identified a small cohort of students (Jolly used both "12" and "15" in different places in the presentation) and will partner with a neighborhood agency to provide a 3-to-6 after-school social-emotional program and transportation for participating students. Jolly said a parent meeting is scheduled to review the program and emphasized that staff will return quarterly to report progress to the board.
Board members asked for clarity before any personnel votes related to the program. One board member pressed whether the district should vote to create or fund a named position without first seeing a candidate; Jolly agreed to pull the personnel item and to bring the candidate name to the board before a vote. The board approved moving forward with program planning but removed the specific personnel hire from the current consent action to allow the district to provide candidate details later.
The superintendent described the program as an early intervention intended to reduce suspensions, expulsions and long-term disengagement. Mental-health supports and a behavior intervention specialist (name to be returned at a later meeting) were described as components of the plan.
