Nine months ago, Camas students, staff and families flooded Camas school board meetings to support their “choice schools” in the wake of the district’s announced budget cuts.
Last week, Camas school board members heard how those choice schools — which include Camas Connect Academy, Discovery, Hayes Freedom High School and Odyssey Middle School — are faring during the 2023-24 school year.
“Choice schools are a vital part of (the school district) that allow us to truly see and serve each student,” Derek Jaques, K-12 program administrator, told board members.
Jaques said roughly one in five Camas School District high school students attend one of the district’s three choice high schools.
“There is definitely a large amount of interest in students accessing programs they feel fit them best,” Jaques said, adding that his research shows Camas’ choice schools are doing a great job offering multi-tiered supports to help students succeed.
Enrollment at most of Camas’ choice schools is growing.
“CCA is really full,” Jaques said. “The elementary program is full as of today … and the secondary program is full.”
Connect Academy currently serves 192 students, including 167 middle and high school students and 25 elementary pupils. Jaques said 39 percent are from low-income households, 17.2 percent have disabilities, 10.2 percent have a 504 plan that supports students with disabilities and 7 percent are highly capable students.
Likewise, Discovery and Hayes Freedom high schools are serving higher proportions of these higher-need students. At Discovery, for instance, 18.3 percent of the 192 students are highly capable, 18.3 percent are students with disabilities, 17.3 percent are from low-income families, 16.2 percent have a Section 504 plan; and 1.6 percent are homeless. At Hayes Freedom, the numbers are even greater, with 32 percent of Hayes’ 183 students qualifying as low-income, 26 percent as students with disabilities, 22 percent as having a Section 504 plan; and 3 percent as homeless.
Board member Erika Cox said she would like to see data comparing the choice schools’ student populations with neighborhood elementary and middle schools and Camas High School.
Daniel Huld, who leads Camas Connect Academy as well as Discovery and Odyssey, said choice schools often are better able to “serve groups of kids with unique needs because (they) have smaller, more nimble programs.”
Jaques, Huld and Hayes Freedom Principal Amy Holmes also presented some of the choice schools’ successes.
“The graduation rate (at CCA) is a good success story,” Huld said. “It’s pretty high for online schools. The course completion rate is what we’re focusing on. (CCA has an) 86 percent passing rate. Camas High School is about 90 percent, so I’d like to continue to work on that. There’s a lot of work that goes into that.”
Hayes Freedom has been around long enough to now serve students of alumni, Holmes said.
As of Jan. 8, Hayes Freedom had 185 students enrolled, which Holmes said is two or three dozen more students than usual.
One huge success at Hayes Freedom, Holmes said, is that all of the students who started as freshmen are now on track to graduate.
Hayes Freedom focuses on connecting with students and helping them think critically while gaining confidence. Holmes said she wants Hayes Freedom students to feel safe and connected to their educators.
“That feeling of safety is so important for them to do the things we want them to do,” Holmes said. “All kids belong in my class. It doesn’t matter where they’ve come from. My job is to make them feel (safe).”
Administrative changes
Superintendent John Anzalone addressed last year’s outcry over the district’s proposed budget cuts.
“There was some concern around CCA unifying with Discovery,” Anzalone said, asking Huld how he and his staff had worked to overcome those concerns.
Huld said the merger between the remote CCA programs and the project-based learning Discovery High School has helped a few Discovery students take online classes they needed without having to leave campus, but admitted that some students, staff and families still had concerns over the merger.
Huld said he is trying to bring “rigor with more structure” to Discovery.
Board members said they appreciated the update on the district’s choice schools.
“It really is rare for a district of our size to have multiple choice options,” Jaques said. “But it really is beneficial for our families.”
