Premier Academy
provides a second chance at high school
 High
School just isn't for some kids.
They might want to learn, but find
themselves incapable or handicapped in a
structured environment.
That's where Premier Academy High School
takes over.
Premier Academy, a "safe school
program" housed partly at 1715 N.
Division St., Morris, is funded through
the Illinois Board of Education Grant
program. It helps students that have
suffered or caused problems in a regular
high school setting.
"The reasons people come here is
that they've been suspended or have had
multiple disciplinary referrals from
their own school," lead instructor
Jamie Koziol said. "If they're
suspended repeatedly, a counselor (or
other administration figure) will place
them here for a quarter of a semester to
a year or longer."
Koziol said the 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
school regularly accepts students in
lieu of expulsion, as well as already
expelled students.
Premier Academy of Grundy County has
been open three years. The first year,
the building held 28 students. Last
year's programming finished with an
enrollment of 52 students.
With the addition of a new building in
the same strip mall, Premier Aca-demy
has a capacity of 75 to 80.
"Right now we're already
approaching 40," Koziol said.
"Our experience has been that
enrollment rises when schools realize
different settings can help
students."
Premier Academy uses computers to teach
students core instruction part of the
day. Other time is spent emphasizing
social skills, drug and alcohol
awareness, and counseling, as well as
anger management and violence
prevention.
"We view this school as an
opportunity," Koziol said.
"Lots of people view it as
punishment, but we see it as an
opportunity. Kids come here because they
want to, because they want to do
better."
Koziol said she credits student success
to the format, such as the more focused
Internet environment, and the
student-to-teacher ratio, which doesn't
exceed 12-1.
Many of her students would agree with
her statement.
"You get a lot more freedom,"
student Tim Haberzetle said. "You
can get up and move around, listen to
music while you work. It's improved.
It's like another chance at high
school."
The atmosphere gives a lot of the kids a
sense of belonging, since many of them
can realize a closer student-teacher
relationship
"In a regular high school you're
surrounded by a class of 30
people," student Tim Maloney said.
"One on one is the key to
victory."
Students are enrolled in Premier Academy
free of charge to local high schools.
The Morris center caters to all of
Grundy County, just as the Premier
Academy in Joliet caters to Will County
residents.
By
Casey Toner
from the Morris
Daily Herald News August 9, 2006
Herald Photo/Casey Toner |
