For foster kids, this school is a home away from homes

Brianna Booker - FreshVoice
When children in foster care move to a new home, they usually change schools, too. In Philadelphia, a teen under the supervision of the Department of Human Services might attend as many as four to five high schools before graduating. That’s if they graduate at all, because an alarming number don’t: A study by the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition found that 75 percent of foster children never complete high school.

Arise Academy, a new charter school in Philadelphia, hopes to turn that around. The school’s founder, Jill Welsh-Davis, GPUAC’s deputy director for program development, believes that “no young person should be invisible.” But that’s the case with many foster children, who seem to fall through the cracks because of their chaotic lives.

The school’s goal is to provide students in foster care with a stable environment. Children enrolled at Arise will stay there, even if they are relocating homes “Arise becomes the students’ families and extended families,” said Roger Jackson Jr., the school’s chief executive. The location of the school, at 1101 Ludlow Street, in Center City, makes it accessible to students across Philadelphia, and it’s near public transportation.

When Arise Academy opens its doors on Sept. 8 it will be the first school in the country to enroll foster-care students only. The 200 accepted (out of 290 who applied) will be the first to experience what Arise has to offer.

The name “Arise” stems from the belief that the school will give the students a get-up-and-go attitude, Welsh-Davis said.

The school is covered with green paint, symbolizing success and fresh beginnings. (Jackson’s 9-year-old daughter chose the color.)

There are other features that make this school stand out from the five other charter schools approved to open this fall. Arise will be a year-round school with short breaks, including a five-week winter break and a six-week summer break. During these breaks the students will participate in an internship or service-learning project.

The school day is longer too, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. After-school programs will run until 6 p.m. Breakfast, lunch and possibly dinner will be served.

The school building is a wireless environment, which helps the school with its computer-based curriculum. An advantage for the students is that they will advance through the courses at their own speed, moving ahead only after they have mastered the material.

There won’t be traditional report cards, either. The students are graded for the course as it is completed, so students can move on to the next level as they are ready and won’t have to wait until the following school year, as in most schools. Students will receive a traditional high-school diploma, and Jackson said that the school plans to have two graduation ceremonies each year.

Arise will offer SAT and PSSA prep classes like most high schools. However, at Arise, one of the graduation requirements is to score at least an 800 (out of 2,400) on the SAT. Extracurricular activities will be added based on the needs and wants of the students, Jackson said. For the first year, sports teams will join with neighboring schools. Arise hopes to have its own teams as time goes on.

The student-to-teacher ratio at Arise is 20-to-1, Jackson said. Twelve teachers have been recruited for the fall. A number of those have been in the foster system or have cared for a foster child. “The staff we’ve put together has a heart for kids,” said Jackson. The counselor for the school is a licensed social worker, who will help the students with personal problems. Also, each student will be assigned a mentoring group, comprising 10 teens and one staff member. The groups will meet on Mondays and Fridays, and students will be encouraged to talk about anything on their minds.

Sharmain Matlock-Turner, GPUAC executive director, would like to involve the community in the school, citing the African saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.”

For the students who enter Arise this fall, she said, "We want it to be the best place our students have ever been.”