In June of 2018, I was done. I had just finished my fourteenth year working in an urban school in Metro Nashville Public Schools, and I. Was. Done. Done with school, done with teachers, done with education. I was looking for anything I could do to pay the bills because I was not going back. My experiences had burned me out; I felt hopeless, like nothing I did mattered, that nothing would change. I was not unlike many of the students who find themselves at a Simon Youth Academy.
Then, I got a call. Had I heard of the Simon Youth Academy at Old Cockrill? Was I familiar with their program? Would I be interested in interviewing to be the principal there?
The Academy at Old Cockrill is a non-traditional public high school in Nashville that serves students aged 17-21 from any and all of the other public high schools who have dropped out or who are in danger of dropping out. For myriad reasons, traditional high school hadn’t worked or wasn’t working for them: they were lost in the crowd; they were parenting; they were working multiple jobs to contribute to their households; they had been expelled at some point (or several points). There are as many reasons as there are students. The common theme in all of their stories is that they are all ready for something different. They are ready to commit to themselves and graduate from high school.
THIS was something I could get behind. THIS felt like the reason I changed my major in 2001. THIS seemed like the opportunity I needed to reawaken my passion for education.
Students apply to Old Cockrill, and then they interview before they can attend. In the interview, we discuss their whys. Why were they not successful at their current or previous school? Why were they applying to Old Cockrill? Why now? Why should we welcome them into our school? We analyze their transcripts and discuss the courses they need to complete graduation requirements. We project the time it will take and are forthcoming about the effort it will entail. We promise them that if they commit to us, we’ll commit to them. If everyone around the interview tables agrees this is the best next step, students join the Old Cockrill family.
And boy, are we a family. An integral part of our vision is that students will experience acceptance, recognition, and a sense of belonging at the Academy at Old Cockrill, and from principal to custodian, from teacher to secretary, this vision is walked out every day. We love our students hard. We have tough conversations. We hold them accountable. We make chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. We pick them up when they can’t get to school. We play basketball at lunch. We cry with them when life gets hard. We cry for them when we see their faces on the news. We give second and third and thousandth chances. We celebrate every credit earned and party for every student who graduates.
Students and teachers work hard in pursuit of their diplomas. On our schedule, students have two classes a day for two and a half hours at a time for approximately five weeks. As long as they are showing up and doing the work and making progress, they earn a credit for a semester course at the end of those five weeks. While the time spent and work required can feel overwhelming sometimes, they also experience quick wins, and see their requirements checked off rapidly, which gives them hope, and aside from everything else the Academy offers, that is perhaps the most valuable. Students who have long experienced hopelessness and defeat experience a self-efficacy they have not previously enjoyed. Not only does this self-efficacy build momentum, it builds confidence. These young adults change while they are at the Academy. They start to talk about a previously unforeseeable future. They talk about being proud of themselves. They walk around with formerly hunched shoulders held back, and heads held high. I’m not exaggerating.
We ask students when they start with us to write “My Story”—a brief look at how they have arrived at a place where they feel like Old Cockrill is their only option. We ask them when they graduate to reflect on that story and share how they have changed in their time with us:
- A whole lot has changed since I’ve wrote “my story” at the beginning of the year. I’ve became a better person since. This school is a life changer. I feel like I’m a better person from when I first walked foot in this door! I’m attending college in the fall for Dental Assistant and plan on having a successful life!
- After spending 3 years in alcohol and drug addiction I have now been sober for nearly a year and after leaving rehab I came to old Cockrill. I failed all but two classes in my 10th and 11th grades and now I’ve graduated ahead of my class. I’m happily sober with a job and amazing family and a wonderful girlfriend.
- Before coming to The Academy of Old Cockrill I was being bullied with no support from any staff at my school. None of my teachers cared about my success so I gave up. Although coming here gave me new hope , I was able to see I could see out my dreams and finish what I started , the teachers here really supported and cared about me , they helped me reach my goals.
- I have been through so much this school year homeless twice and still pushed forward to graduate. My new goal is to get into the college I have always wanted to go to, and to help my mother as much as I can.
- My new goals in life are to succeed. I’ve always been a person who’s wanted to help, when I came to old Cockrill, I was unsure of my future plans but after being a part of a program so amazing, I want to do something just like it. I’ve been inspired by the staff and the students to do something great.
While I have never dealt with many of the things my students encounter and survive daily, My Story has changed, too. When I came to Old Cockrill, I had stopped believing that I could make a difference. I had forgotten the joy I used to find in working in schools. I had lost track of my why. After a year at Simon Youth Academy at Old Cockrill, I have re-calibrated and re-centered. I tangibly deal in hope every day with the students I encounter. I don’t mind my 45 minute commute because I love flipping pancakes for my students and walking with them through tough times and rejoicing in small wins and huge accomplishments. Last year at this time, I couldn’t see a future for myself in public education; after a year here, I can’t imagine doing anything else.
In June of 2018, I was done. In June of 2019, I have just begun.
