Acceleration Academies_Spring2023_Pathways Magazine

ESCAMBIA COUNTY ACCELERATION ACADEMIES
ECAA Grad Nathan Godwin
Overcame Serious Injury and Found Success
Even before the car crash, traditional high school
wasn’t working for Nathan Godwin.
A serious-minded young man, Nathan signed up
for AP chemistry, calculus, physics, statistics and
other challenging subjects. But it seemed like the
teachers had to spend more time corralling rowdy
classmates than providing academic support.
Compounding matters, Nathan’s need to work
to support himself made standard school hours
tough to maintain.
In his junior year, Nathan was in a car accident, suffered
a serious spinal injury and had to participate in physical
therapy 30-40 hours a week. Each day, he would log a
full day in classes, then leave at 3 p.m. to do sometimes
grueling therapy until 9 or 10 p.m.
“I couldn’t keep up with any of it,” he says. By
the end of his senior year, he had fallen so far
behind that he couldn’t graduate with his class. “I
didn’t walk with my class and I was pretty much
desperate to find an alternative program.”
Then he discovered Escambia County Acceleration
Academies, which works in partnership with
Escambia County Public Schools to provide a flexible,
personalized path to a diploma for learners who haven’t
found success in traditional settings. At ECAA, Nathan
found what he needed.
The flexible scheduling allowed him to both
succeed in coursework and invest the hours he
needed in physical therapy and a job.
And while he had trouble getting time with a teacher
in his old school, at ECAA he only had to look up to
Nathan plans to go to flight school
and get his pilot’s license to fly cargo
or other commercial airplanes.
find an educator willing to help. Godwin credits
ECAA Director Mat Taylor with welcoming and
encouraging him, and ESE coach Amy Weaver
with providing firm but loving guidance. “She’s
been extremely supportive and motivating,
basically lighting a fire under me.” The fire stayed
lit, and Nathan recently celebrated his graduation.
He couldn’t be happier.
“I wanted to graduate and get my diploma. You
can’t do much without a diploma these days.
A GED doesn’t seem to be the equivalent,”
he says. “When you go to apply for jobs, they
want a high school graduate.”
Nathan successfully completed his physical
therapy after transferring to ECAA and has been
working as a bridge technician, serving and
repairing spans from Pensacola to Tallahassee.
He plans to go to flight school and get his pilot’s
license to fly cargo or other commercial airplanes.
Providing for himself, and eventually a family, is
Nathan’s top priority. As a child, his father spent
time in prison and the family struggled financially.
“Being a kid, not having a lot, not getting a
lot for Christmas, not having what other
people had — I don’t want my children to
find themselves in the same situation,” says
Nathan, 20.
He’s grateful that Acceleration Academies gave
him a second lease on high school and a big step
toward his dreams. He hopes other young learners
will see it as a promising alternative.
“You come here, you can talk one-on-one with
your teacher. You can sit alone or with other
people. You can learn at your own pace,” he
says. “Personalization is everything. Make the
students feel like people and not like statistics,
points on a stat sheet.”