2022 Q2 Pathways Quarterly Magazine

PATHWAYS
Acceleration Academies
Summer | 2022

Offering a flexible,
personalized path to
success in high school
and life beyond.
You can graduate.
We can help.

16 Locations in Six States
Across the U.S.
| FLORIDA
Escambia County
» North Pensacola
» Northwest Pensacola
Marion County
Miami-Dade County
» Homestead
» Miami
St. Lucie County
» Port St. Lucie
» Fort Pierce
Sarasota County
» North Sarasota
» South Sarasota
| KANSAS
Wichita
| NEVADA
Clark County
» North Las Vegas
» East Las Vegas
» Southeast Las Vegas
| SOUTH CAROLINA
North Charleston
| TEXAS
Ector County
| WASHINGTON
Bethel School District
...with more opening soon
in Georgia!

network by the numbers
Our students (who we call graduation candidates) come from all
backgrounds and experiences. They include learners who struggle in
a traditional school setting, need additional one-on-one support or work
jobs that don’t fit with a traditional school day. Some are young parents;
new Americans learning English; or students who faced bullying, racism
or social anxiety in larger schools. Some are managing medical conditions;
others want to accelerate their studies, graduate early and move on to
college, trade school, the military or professional sports careers. Whatever
your circumstances, Acceleration Academies is here to help you
#OwnYourSuccess.
MORE THAN
2,800
GRADUATION
CANDIDATES
ENROLLED
CELEBRATING
1,710+
GRADUATES
SINCE 2014
AT
16
ACADEMIES
ACROSS
THE UNITED STATES

Contents
6
myIncite: our new custom portal
supports student Success
14
LAA math coach shares her
pride
7
8
10
11
12
First WAA grad celebrates long
journey
ECAA grad got a second chance for
education
At BAA and ECAA, success found
with individualized attention and
calm environment
SAA grad credits mentors
and coaches for support and
encouragement
CCAA student excels in CTE
internship program
15
16
18
20
22
CCAA and MDAA GCs
appreciate the support of
their content coaches and
GC advocates
EAA helps teen parents
learn and grow
SLAA grad let his faith be
bigger than his fear
Scenes from the academies
Class Notes: news from all
academies
PATHWAYS MAGAZINE
© July 2022
EDITOR & DESIGNER
Lisa Meckley
WRITER
Jeffrey Good
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Sarah Campbell
Jeffrey Good
Drew Perine
Hali Schaefer
Annie Shaw
Diana Solis
Rochelle Strack
Andrew Whitaker

myIncite: Our New Custom Portal
Supports Student Success
Behind the scenes at our 16 academy locations, our network
team remains laser-focused on ensuring that our graduation
candidates (GCs) — and the staff members that support
them — have the tools they need to succeed. One such
tool recently rolled out to our GCs. myIncite is Acceleration
Academies’ new, custom student portal and it gives GCs
access to everything they need to #OwnTheirSuccess.
Today’s teens have the world at their fingertips. Now, with myIncite, GCs have unparalleled access to their
educational goals and other resources to enable success—all from the click of a button. myIncite is a
comprehensive suite of digital tools, designed to give actionable insights to our GCs. These tools provide
motivation and structure for our GCs through communication, organization and data.
With myIncite, GCs can:
» Keep track of their progress towards graduation and see how many credits they have remaining
» See progress and grades for active courses
» Directly access their online courses
» Chat with their Graduation Candidate Advocate (GCA) and Content Coach (CC)
» Collaborate with other GCs and stay involved through discussion boards and digital classrooms
GCs aren’t the only ones who benefit from myIncite. Staff members, including GCAs and CCs, have access as
well. Through myIncite, they can communicate with GCs, create digital classrooms, gain insight into student
progress and more. Feedback about myIncite from both students and staff is overwhelmingly positive.
6 Pathways Magazine | Summer 2022

Ricardo Burciaga:
First Wichita Grad Celebrates Long Journey to His Diploma
WICHITA ACCELERATION ACADEMIES
By any standard, Ricardo Burciaga
had a long commute to school.
Even as he pursued his high school
diploma at Wichita Acceleration
Academies, Ricardo also held down
a full time construction job — three
hours away in Kansas City.
By virtue of his hard work and the
flexible, personalized help provided
by the team of educators at WAA,
Ricardo found success. In late May,
he became the new school’s firstever
graduate.
“I never thought I’d get this
done,” Ricardo marveled as family
members and educators gathered to
celebrate his achievement.
Ricardo realized his goal just shy of
his 21st birthday. Looking back at
his decision to drop out three years
earlier, he said he has changed. “I’m
not going to lie to you. Back then, I
didn’t care about school. I didn’t care
about nothing,” he said.
“I feel like I became a
better person.”
A variety of factors led him to drop
out. His then-girlfriend got pregnant
with their daughter, Victoria, and
Ricardo felt the pressure to get a
job and provide. And he felt little
attachment to a school where it
seemed like he was just a number on
the attendance log.
“You’d ask a teacher for help but
you’d have to wait” due to the large
number of other students. He tried
online school for a while, but found
he had a hard time overcoming his
tendency to procrastinate. And when
he stumbled on the material, “You
could never ask a teacher, ‘What
does this mean?’ ”
As his 21st birthday approached,
though, Ricardo decided that he
needed a diploma to begin building
the life he wants. He searched
for a school that offered him the
scheduling flexibility that would
allow him to hold onto his job and
study in his off-hours, but also offer
the one-on-one support he needed to
thrive.
He found that combination at WAA.
“Here, there is always somebody
to help you,” he said. “Even if they
aren’t your teacher, they help. They
want you to succeed.”
“
“Here, there is always
somebody to help
you,” he said. “Even
if they aren’t your
teacher, they help.
They want you to
succeed.”
RICARDO RICARDO | Construction | WAA Worker Grad
Pathways Magazine | Summer 2022 7

ESCAMBIA COUNTY ACCELERATION ACADEMIES
Josiah Gadia:
“A Second Chance to Get My Education”
Not so long ago, Josiah Gadia feared
he would never earn his high school
diploma.
Today, he’s being celebrated by family, friends
and educators as the first-ever graduate of
Escambia County Acceleration Academies.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to
do,” he said. “But once Acceleration
Academies was introduced to me, it
just clicked.”
After dropping out of his previous school to work
full-time, Josiah felt a fleeting sense of relief.
“After you drop out, you get a sense of freedom:
‘Oh, I don’t have school anymore,’ ” he said. “But
after a while it gets a little old.”
He found out about ECAA, which works
in partnership with the Escambia County
Superintendent Dr. Timothy A. Smith, Director
of Alternative Education Kerri L. Coots and their
team to provide a flexible, personalized path to
graduation.
Josiah would like to
study video game
and graphic design
in college, with help
from a U.S. Navy
scholarship.
Josiah saw it as “a second chance to get my
education and finally get my life back together.”
He liked that he could take one
course at a time, focusing on one
subject before moving on to the
next. “I can work at my own pace. It
allows me to understand things at
the speed I want.”
His focus wavered when he first began, but he
said that educators including graduation candidate
advocate Cordivido Grice provided warm-butfirm
encouragement. Academy coaches also
helped him sort through the personal challenges
— including anxiety, depression and family issues
— that sometimes got in the way.
“Sometimes I have things on my mind and I need
somebody to talk to,” said Josiah. “Even though
I’m 20 now, I’m still not that far out from being a
teenager, so I still have confusion in some aspects
of my life.”
He’s clear about his dreams.
In addition to working on his
songwriting career, Josiah would like
to study video game and graphic
design in college, with help from a
U.S. Navy scholarship rooted in his
grandfather’s service.
What advice would he give to other struggling
students? Find a school program that works for
you, and then do the work. “If you’re not doing
it for someone else, do it for yourself, rather than
not doing it and regretting it later on in life.”

“
“If you’re not
doing it for
someone else,
do it for yourself,
rather than not
doing it and
regretting it later
on in life.”
JOSIAH | Aspiring Video Game Designer

Erika Meneses and Kendall Mast:
Success Found With Individualized Attention and Calm Environment
BETHEL ACCELERATION ACADEMIES
ESCAMBIA COUNTY ACCELERATION ACADEMIES
A BLEND OF ENCOURAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY
When Erika Meneses first walked into Bethel
Acceleration Academies, she barely recognized it
as a school. And that was a good thing. At her old
school, “it was very crowded, very distracting.”
At BAA, she found a world apart — soft light, comfy
cafe-style chairs, and a choice between studying
in an area with other graduation candidates or
finding a corner of her own.
“At Bethel Acceleration Academies, you can
work in peace.”
But she never felt alone. She credits educators
there — including graduation candidate advocate
Jessica Jaramillo, math content coach Ben Hanks
and ESE coach Stacy Nicholaisen — with giving
her just the right blend of encouragement and
accountability.
And now she’s a graduate, aiming for a career in
the U.S. military.
CALM ENVIRONMENT BUILDS CONFIDENCE
Like many Acceleration Academies students,
17-year-old Kendell Mast had a hard time
thriving in a large, crowded high school. It was
too easy to fall behind in her coursework and
feel lost in the crowd.
When her father’s Navy job brought her family
from Washington State to Pensacola, Florida
last year, she says, “I thought it would be better
to go to a small school where I could go at my
own pace. I thrive in smaller environments.”
She found the environment she was looking for
at Escambia County Acceleration Academies.
Here, she’s benefiting from a quiet learning
space, ample academic and personal support
— and a community of peers who also embrace
the flexible, non-traditional school.
“It’s made me more confident in myself.”
“I was so happy,” she says of finding BAA. “I wish
I had found it sooner.”
10 Pathways Magazine | Summer 2022

SARASOTA ACCELERATION ACADEMIES
Sarasota Grad Tyler Marcoaldi:
Moving from Dropout to Successful Grad
During the final half of his senior year at Sarasota High,
Tyler Marcoaldi simply gave up. He had a full-time
job, was covering his own bills and thought he could
“He’s always been mature, but in the last year, leaps and
bounds,” says Hayes. “I know he always had it, but he’s
shocked me with the young man he’s become.”
do just fine without a diploma. So he walked away.
Tyler said he was never the type to spend long hours in a
“I had already made my mind up I wasn’t getting a
diploma,” says Tyler, 19.
traditional classroom listening to teachers lecture. He’s
a quick study and likes to work at
a quicker pace — but he also appreciates
But then he heard about Sarasota
Acceleration Academies,
which provides a flexible
the one-on-one support
provided by SAA educators when
challenges arise.
schedule and personalized approach
to students like Tyler,
who could no longer fit a traditional
school day into a schedule
that included working fulltime
as a mechanic at Toyota.
Curtis Hayes & Tyler Marcoaldi
Tyler credits Hayes with getting
to know him as a human being as
well as a student; social studies
coach Angelik Byrd with working
with him to master complex topics;
and coach Fred Thomas with helping prepare him
And now, he has walked across the graduation stage for the ACT exam.
and claimed his diploma. Among those celebrating will
be Curtis Hayes, the SAA graduation candidate advocate
who told Tyler about Acceleration Academies in
“Everybody here’s really helpful,” he says. “They know
we’re smart and will do the work.”
the first place.
Did you know...
We call our students
“Graduation Candidates”
(GCs) to remind them
every day of the reason
they are working so hard.
Our proprietary Graduation
Persistence Index allows us to
assess non-academic factors
known to impact student
success, providing an important
guide for customizing each
student’s learning plan.
Upon entry into our
program, GCs take a
career interest survey so
we can begin mapping
out their future career
and education plan.
Pathways Magazine | Summer 2022 11

Alizeah Jones:
Taking Advantage of
Nevada Help Desk Internship
Program Opportunity
At 16, Alizeah Jones already has a clear sense
of how she’d like her life to unfold. She just
needed a school that would allow her to move
at the fast pace that, for her, works best.
At a traditional high school, Alizeah felt
stymied by classes that, by necessity,
needed to move at a pace appropriate for all
students. “I wanted to graduate faster and I
knew if I could do it at my own pace, I could
do it.”
Transferring to Clark County Acceleration
Academies (CCAA) has allowed her to excel. In
addition to acing at her regular coursework,
she was selected to participate in a new
partnership to prepare students for jobs in the
booming field of digital marketing.
Alizeah is one of 20 graduation
candidates from CCAA to participate
in the Nevada Help Desk CyberTeens
60 Internship program led by Dr.
Duana Malone, aka “The Tech Queen.”
The partnership is a pilot program
of Acceleration Academies’ growing
Career and Technical Education (CTE)
initiative.
Recently, Alizeah became the first student
in Nevada to earn the Facebook Community
Manager certification, which trains social
media managers in developing marketing
content and engaging users online.
“We are so proud of all that Alizeah has
accomplished,” says CCAA Director Wendy
Thompson. “She was the first student in the
state of Nevada to earn the new certification
ALIZEAH | Facebook Certified
for social media. At 16 years old, her fierce
determination, strong commitment to her high
school studies and great habits of practice are
helping her soar to new heights.”
Every morning, Alizeah and other students gather
at Las Vegas City Hall to learn digital skills, work on
their projects and hear from inspirational speakers.
Alizeah has dreams of going to culinary school
and opening her own restaurant on the Las Vegas
Strip. While digital marketing was not an area that
she had previously explored, she decided to seize
the opportunity to join the first-ever class in the
program.
She loves it. She is working with a digital marketing
12 Pathways Magazine | Summer 2022

CLARK COUNTY ACCELERATION ACADEMIES
“
“Never block your
own blessing.
If there is an
opportunity that is
presenting itself to
you, take it. ”
to work in paid internships and, if those go
well, to qualify for jobs with employers such
as MGM, Facebook, Google and others.
She’s glad she enrolled at CCAA, and grateful
to have the opportunity to gain new skills and
insights in a field she might not otherwise
have considered.
Through the Help Desk program, she
and other students were also able to gain
inspiration from guest speakers including a
filmmaker who had grown up in a rough part
of Miami and shared his story of choosing the
right path for himself and doing the work
needed to achieve his dreams.
“He just talks about how to surround yourself
with the right people,” says Alizeah. “He
says, ‘If you don’t value yourself, nobody’s
going to value you.’”
strategy group to build a Facebook page for
Wendell P. Williams, a former Nevada state
lawmaker, founder of the Dr. Martin Luther King
Committee of Las Vegas, radio talk show creator
and educator. “We’re creating a digital legacy for
him,” she says.
She’s also working on a Wikipedia page for
Dr. Malone, a prominent tech entrepreneur
committed to creating opportunities for young
people who might not otherwise get them.
“She’s amazing,” Alizeah says. “She’s very
inspiring.”
Succeeding in the Help Desk coursework positions
Alizeah and her fellow learners to put their skills
What advice would she offer other young
learners who are trying to chart their futures?
“Never block your own blessing,” she says.
“If there is an opportunity that is presenting
itself to you, take it.”
Acceleration
Academies is
proud to partner
with these
companies
for digital
certifications,
internships and
apprenticeships.

LOWCOUNTRY ACCELERATION ACADEMY
Math Coach Sarah Aquino: Making LGBTQ Learners Feel Welcome
The educators at Lowcountry Acceleration
Academy work hard to create an environment
where all feel welcome.
From the gender-neutral bathrooms to the
question “Which pronouns do you prefer?” —
graduation candidates who identify as lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender or queer feel instantly
at home.
And when they meet their math coach, Sarah
Aquino, they see a living example of an adult
who is thriving as her authentic self.
“Seeing their lesbian math coach have her
wife and kids come in some days, that’s so
empowering,” says Sarah. “That’s what Pride
looks like.”
As Acceleration Academies celebrates Pride
Month around the country, Sarah celebrates a
non-traditional school that works hard to treat all
GCs as the individuals they are.
“When you walk through here, there are so
many different types of GCs,” she says. “That is so
calming for GCs who are anxious, gay, or straight
or transgender.”
Sarah married her wife, Danielle, in 2018, and
they have 2-year-old twins, Jaxson and Addison.
Danielle is an elite-level volleyball coach and Sarah,
a standout athlete herself, has long coached
soccer, hockey and lacrosse.
In the academic realm, her passion is math, a
subject in which she’s always been “weirdly
good.” For high schoolers who find it a struggle,
she tries to break it down into understandable
chunks to build confidence.
In college, she briefly toyed with the idea of a
career in actuarial science. But after student
teaching, she knew she had found her path.
“I like numbers but I like people more. I could never
sit in a cubicle all day and crunch numbers,” Sarah
says. After being in the classroom, “I thought ‘This
is where I belong.’”
14 Pathways Magazine | Summer 2022

CLARK COUNTY ACCELERATION ACADEMIES
Kimberly Morris: Looking Forward to the Open Road Ahead
Kimberly Morris says there was
never really any question about
her sexual identity. “I never
liked boys — always knew.”
In public, some people
misgender her, she says. ”I’m a
girl that comes off masculine
and I get misgendered as a
male.”
But at Clark County
Acceleration Academies,
educators and fellow
graduation candidates know
her for her full self and make
her feel fully supported.
“All the coaches are so helpful,”
she says. “The help that
Acceleration Academies gives
is one-on-one.”
Kimberly, 18, says the
program’s flexible scheduling
is crucial.
She works at the airport
helping disabled people get
around the terminal. With a
50-hour work week, she needs
the ability to do her coursework
during her off-hours. “I can log
in when I have some free time.”
When she can’t make it to
campus, she said social studies
content coach Alana Milich
is always willing to hop on a
video call and help her master
complicated concepts.
“That was really helpful
because I couldn’t make it
[in to the academy] due to
my work,” she says. “At most
schools you don’t get that kind
of help.”
After graduation, Kimberly
plans to earn her commercial
driver license and become an
interstate trucker. She loves
the feel of being at the wheel
of a powerful rig, and the
freedom offered by the open
road. She knows her road will
be smoother with a diploma in
hand.
“A high school diploma is one
of the main things you need to
have a good-paying job.”
Miami Grad Rufus Wallace: ‘They Kept Me Going’
MIAMI-DADE ACCELERATION ACADEMIES
When Rufus Wallace was at a traditional public school,
he struggled to maintain focus. And with so many other
students, it was hard for his teachers to provide the kind
of one-on-one help he craved.
Transferring to Miami-Dade Acceleration Academies, he
found just that. “All the teachers, they saw something in
me that I didn’t see in myself,” says Rufus, who recently
graduated and is planning on enrolling in trade school.
“They were the gasoline to my car. They kept me going.”
Particularly helpful was graduation candidate advocate
Nadi Sambrana, who urged him back on track when he
lost momentum.
Sometimes, he acknowledges, the love had to get tough.
“Even at times when I was ready to give up, she said,
‘Don’t worry, I’m always going to be here to support
you,” he says. “She was like a parent. She was on me.”
Rufus Wallace & Nadi Sambrana
Pathways Magazine | Summer 2022 15

Helping Teen Parents
— and Their Children —
Learn and Grow
There are currently 27 EAA graduation candidates in the teen parent
program. Rather than becoming dropouts, they are becoming
proud high school graduates.
At Acceleration Academies of Ector County,
educators care not only for their enrolled
graduation candidates but also the most special
people in the GCs’ lives — their children.
EAA educators work in partnership with
the Ector County Independent School
District’s Teen Related Parenting
Services program to support young
parents with services such as free
day care, transportation, help
with government benefits, and the
opportunity to participate in “Dad
U” and the “Beach House” facility
for moms to nurse their babies
while on campus.
“It’s that collaboration that makes
the program unique,” says EAA Life
Coach Maya Cotton.
The partnership is critical to young mothers and
fathers who might otherwise miss the opportunity
to earn their diplomas, says Alicia Syverson,
Assistant Superintendent of Student and School
Support at the district.
The challenge is particularly steep in an area of
Texas where the oil industry provides high-paying
jobs that young parents — fathers, in particular —
take to support their families. “It’s hard for some
of these kids to decide between making almost
six digits in some cases or getting their high
school diplomas.”
Syverson is an Odessa native, veteran
educator and mom who’s seen the boomand-bust
cycle of oil jobs. She and
her fellow educators want to make
sure young people have a diploma
to secure their futures even when
those jobs go away.
With the ECISD/EAA program,
they can work full-time, complete
their studies on a flexible schedule
and get the parent services they need,
says Syverson.
“We are producing the future leaders, the
future workers in this area, so we have to make sure
we are providing all the supports they need to be
successful.”
16 Pathways Magazine | Summer 2022

ACCELERATION ACADEMIES OF ECTOR COUNTY
Alexis Lagrone is a 17-year-old
woman with a 1-year-old son, Maleek.
Traditional school didn’t work for
her for a variety of reasons, including
the difficulty she had balancing a
normal school schedule with her other
responsibilities.
“I had a job, I had school and I
had a baby,” she says. “It was
overwhelming.”
At EAA, she found quiet learning spaces,
a schedule flexible enough to work
around her other responsibilities, and —
through the EAA/ECISD partnership —
ample support for her both as a student
and a young mom.
“Transferring to Ector
Acceleration Academies has
been the biggest blessing,” she
says. At the end of May, she completed
her coursework and earned the right
to graduate and pursue her dream of
becoming a nurse. “I have a 1-year-old
son who needs me and I have a diploma
waiting for me to grab it.”
Brian Argomaniz is another
young parent who found EAA to
be the perfect fit. With a 1-year-old
daughter, Sareena, and another
child on the way, Brian found
the academy’s flexible,
personalized learning
approach to be just right.
He had dropped out of traditional
school due to a lack of motivation.
But when his first child was born, he
realized a diploma was the
key to a brighter future —
including starting his own car wash
business.
“I’ve got to have a better future for my
daughter and my son,” says the recent
grad. “I want them to be able to have
a good yard, a good house. I never
had my own room; I want
them each to have their own
room.”
Pathways Magazine | Summer 2022 17

Ja’Kerien Sutton: ‘I Just Let My Faith
Be Bigger Than My Fear’
During the first semester of his senior year at a
traditional high school, Ja’Kerien Sutton was on
track to graduate with his class.
But then an altercation with another student
turned ugly and — just like that — Ja’Kerien’s
dreams of graduating, going to college and
playing football in front of cheering crowds
disappeared.
“That one decision changed my high school
experience,” says the 18-year-old.
Unable to return to his old school, he began
looking into alternatives.
Wanting to earn a real diploma, he found his
way to St. Lucie Acceleration Academies, which
works in partnership with St. Lucie Public
Schools to provide a personalized path for
students who have struggled in other settings.
“Once they told me I could graduate on time, I
said, ‘I’m in.’ ”
Recently, he reached his goal, striding across
the stage to collect the diploma he had worked
hard to earn. And he couldn’t be more grateful to
the academy educators who helped him get his
studies — and his life — back on track.
From the day he walked in and saw a learning
18 Pathways Magazine | Summer 2022

ST. LUCIE ACCELERATION ACADEMIES
space with comfortable seating and a studious
into manageable pieces and then showing how
atmosphere, Ja’Kerien knew this was a different
what he was learning could help him manage his
kind of school. No crowded hallways, no rows of personal finances, do his taxes and work toward
desks, and no worries about getting help when he his goal of some day opening a business.
needed it.
“He was patient and he took his time and really
just helped out a lot. He understood me a lot,
“I like it better than a regular high school. Even
which I really appreciated — even though I had
though there were other kids there, they really
him for a short period of time, he was one of the
took their time with each individual kid,” he says best math teachers I ever had.”
of academy educators. “They made it an at-home
feeling.”
Having earned his diploma and re-established
himself as a learner,
Particularly helpful
was math coach
Carson Senger.
When Ja’Kerien
learned he had two
math classes to
complete in order to
graduate, he recalls,
“I said there’s no
way I’m going to
“I like it better than a regular
high school...they really took
their time with each individual
kid,” he says of academy
educators. “They made it an
at-home feeling.”
Ja’Kerien has reconnected
with college
football coaches
and is hoping to win
admission to Bethune-
Cookman University or
another school this fall.
With help from Senger
and other SLAA
coaches, Ja’Kerien says
finish two math classes and graduate on time. I’m he learned a valuable lesson.
horrible at math.”
“Bad times don’t last forever, they really don’t,”
His coach was undaunted. He worked patiently
he says. “I just let my faith be bigger than my
with Ja’Kerien, breaking complex math problems fear.”
Did you know...
Acceleration Academies
is a tuition-free, nationally
accredited program!
Pathways Magazine | Summer 2022 19

Scenes from the Academies
Acceleration Academies celebrates our recent graduates!
20 Pathways Magazine | Summer 2022

Pathways Magazine | Summer 2022 21

Bethel, WA
A promising group of graduation candidates
(GCs) were chosen to help build a mentor program
with the local elementary school. Our
BAA mentors got a chance to be role models
for our younger students in the community,
build powerful relationships, and be founders
of a program that can continue to grow and
develop throughout the school district. We are
looking forward to continuing this program to
strengthen the leadership skills of our GCs for
many years to come.
— Alison Roseboro, Director
Clark County, NV
What we do here isn’t just about the diploma.
It’s about getting beyond the diploma to their
future desires and future hopes and to their best
life ever. And I think that is something about
us that I would want all students to know. We
care about them while they’re with us and we
care about them after they graduate. Once part
of the Acceleration Academies, always part of
it. It’s really wonderful to see our young people
take off and soar to new heights as a result
of the support and care that they get from our
dedicated staff.
— Wendy Thompson, Director
class notes
St. Lucie, FL
St Lucie Acceleration Academies celebrated
14 graduates on June 8, including a few EAR-
LY grads. It was great having so many young
people attend the ceremony and to have them
all back at the site for our traditional graduate
reception. We celebrate their success in high
school and look forward to their success in life.
— Paige Latham, Director
Miami-Dade, FL
We recently celebrated 38 amazing new graduates.
Each worked hard and had to overcome
significant barriers to experience this achievement.
We are so proud of their resilience and
hard work. Some decisions have minimal impact
on our daily lives, but others impact us
for a lifetime. The decision to earn their high
school diploma was a long term decision with
positive implications for our grads, their families
and their communities.
— Marcus Moore, Director
Sarasota, FL
Our GCs come from all over Sarasota County
seeking an opportunity to earn their high school
diploma in a flexible work environment with
caring and supportive staff members. More
than 30 new graduates will cross the stage
this August thanks to the collaborative efforts
of district, network and local team members.
Together, we will strive toward a 100 percent
graduation rate.
— Michelle Llinas, Director

Wichita, KS
Wichita Acceleration Academies is proud to
celebrate our first graduate. Ricardo Burciaga
completed his last course in April while working
12 hour days in construction. Determined
to finish, Ricky spent an entire Friday with
us — working past closing time — to get the
support he needed to cross the finish line. With
his diploma in hand, Ricky is now considering
applying to the Plumbers & Pipefitters Apprenticeship
Training of Kansas.
— Chris Turner, Director
Ector County, TX
This May, EAA celebrated our first group of
graduates with a Senior Legacy lunch. The
idea was to treat them to lunch and discuss
what they would like their legacy to be. We
asked them to leave words of advice or a lesson
learned to our future graduates. Very appropriately,
one of GCs Kezia Sosa invited
her mom to join her. Her mom was an integral
member of her dream team. At orientation,
we ask all GCs to identify their dream
team, people in their lives who support their
dreams. Keziah’s three simple words of advice
to incoming freshmen, “Never give up!”
— Virginia Hunt, Director
Escambia County, FL
We moved into a spacious new campus that
features open learning areas, comfortable
cafe-style seating, warm light and a studious
atmosphere. The new site located in Tradewinds
Plaza creates a welcoming space that invites
graduation candidates to spend a healthy chunk
of their time in a place where they can interact
with caring educators and coaches, get to know
classmates who are on similar journeys of selfdiscovery,
and join in the celebration every time
a GC completes a course and moves one step
closer to their dream of a diploma.
— Cindy Endicott, Interim Director
Lowcountry, SC
Lowcountry Acceleration Academy opened
its doors in August 2021. In less than a year,
we have seen 25 graduates receive their high
school diploma. The key to that success
is the persistence of the LAA staff and the
determination of our graduation candidates.
Throughout their educational journey at LAA,
students are not only completing courses to
obtain their high school diploma but also
developing the best coping mechanisms to
address the barriers that hinder success in school
and in life.
— Dr. Jacinta Bryant, Director
class notes

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