Pickens County Schools announces opening of alternative school
CARROLLTON, Ala. (WCBI) – While school is in the middle of the Spring semester, those in Pickens County are finding ways to empower students through their academic journey.
Pickens County Schools announced the grand opening of the Resilient Scholars Academy.
It’s a new learning facility made for academic recovery, mental growth, and other assistance for Pickens County students.
Pickens County School officials have officially opened the Resilient Scholars Academy, the district’s alternative education program.
“It is going to be a great opportunity for our students to be in Pickens County,” Shawn McDaniel, Pickens County Schools Superintendent, said. “It will be great to bring hope and to restore kids, and we are very excited about it here in our county.”
The facility will provide academic, social, and emotional support, along with leadership development.
For several years, the district has gone without an alternative school.
With the opening of the RSA, they are addressing that need and taking a new approach to reaching the students.
Anissa Ball is the district Director of Student Services.
She said there has long been a need for a supportive learning environment like Resilient Scholars Academy.
“It’s been over 20 years since we actually had an alternative education placement for our students because in the past, we’ll expel the students and we’ve had the send them home and we’ve found that when we send them home a lot of times they come back with those same behaviors so instead of us sending them home we send them to our Resilient Scholars Academy,” Anissa Ball said. “We will try to do things to teach them that there are better ways to handle situations.”
The RSA will feature smaller class sizes and individualized instruction. And it will focus on social and emotional learning to reinforce positive behaviors.
“This is an opportunity for kids that may be struggling, maybe going through problems or difficulties that causes behavioral issues, it gives them an opportunity to be alternatively placed here,” McDaniel said.
Ball said they will have community service for students during their time at the alternative school.
“We have to have so many community service hours,” Ball said. “Because we told them sometimes you have to be able to give back and not receive all the time so our students will be providing some community service throughout Carrollton during the school year on the time that they are here. They’ll have to do at least 3 hours per week.”
Resilient Scholars Academy started taking students February 23.
