'Outside the Box' Program Helps Brighton Students Succeed

Thinking outside the box to help students succeed is the main goal for the staff at Brighton’s Bridge Alternative High School.

Committed to helping her students achieve that success, principal Colleen Deaven said that recognizing different needs in a non-traditional setting was one of the biggest incentives for implementing a new schedule structure.

Starting this September, Bridge students will experience a traditional four-day school week, Monday through Thursdays, with an "out-of-the-box" attitude designed to meet student needs on Fridays.

While hoping to attract students by offering a more flexible schedule, Deaven said it’s also the extra opportunities that will be available on Fridays that students “will want to take advantage of.” 

“One of those is our credit-recovery program,” Deaven said. “Where they come in for a four-hour block of time, so in addition to the credits they’re earning Monday through Thursday, they’ll have an additional day to earn another half credit.”

Fridays will also offer students the opportunity to gain some vocational experiences as well by choosing to participate in community outreach programs that include apprenticeships or volunteer work for credit.

Deaven said the new structure and additions to the program emphasizes life skills that will help her students succeed after graduation.

“Because we’re not just seeing the kid who is going graduate and maybe go on to college," she said. "We’re seeing the kid who needs a job now to help his family out.”

By offering extra training, extra programs, tutoring, ACT prep and credit recovery, Deaven said the goal is to reach as many students as possible in as many different ways as possible.

"There are kids here who we are going to be able to help and that's what we're here for," she said.

The Bridge Alternative High School is currently accepting appointments for formal registration on August 21-23. For more information, call 810-299-4046.