A dilapidated building perched at 1316 Maud Street is no longer home to the Poplar Bluff Graduation Center. The students and faculty have been relocated to a vacant space at the Poplar Bluff Technical Career Center, formerly utilized by the practical nurse program. The decision to move was made by Superintendent Scott Dill during the summer.
"I saw the need and took advantage of a situation that presented itself," he said.
The Graduation Center caters to students behind in their academic progress. They are removed from the regular student body, in hopes a different environment and individualized learning program propel them to graduation. In other words, the graduation center consists of 31 kids who need help the most. Last year, approximately 28 at-risk students graduated as a result of the program, said Poplar Bluff High School Principal Mike Owen.
But before the recent move, the environment these students were learning in was lackluster, according to one Graduation Center student.
"The boys bathroom would leak all the time, it was just horrible. It got broken into a lot, mostly by the kids," said 17-year-old Jerry Faughn.
Prior to relocating, students may or may not have gotten to go outside for physical education class. It depended on availability of the athletic facilities up the hill at the junior high. They also had to make a daily trek to the cafeteria to pick up their lunches, then carry their food back to the rundown building to eat. If it was raining or snowing, "you'd deal with it, run," Faughn said.
With the facility now located on the high school's campus, unanticipated improvements are having a positive effect on morale, Faughn continued.
"This new building makes me want to go to school more," he said. "My attendance has been a lot better. Here I focus more. I don't know why but I do."
Faughn also said because of simple things, like P.E. and being permitted to eat in the cafeteria, he feels like a real part of the school.
"Last year, we didn't have that many options of having P.E.," he said. "Here, we have an hour P.E. every day. We didn't get as many selections of food as we do here, either. Actually having choices and not having to carry my food is way better."
Aside from just lunch and P.E., the bus now drops off students outside the front door, instead of dropping them in the junior high parking lot from where they'd have to walk down the hill to Maud St. And, depending on their situation, some students now have the option to take elective courses at the high school, or to enroll in the technical career center while catching up their core curriculum.
Corey Jameson is the lead teacher at the grad center. He said the better facilities have led to a noticeable boost in engagement not only with Faughn, but also with the other students. He said when the school makes an effort to show kids they are valued, the impact is outstanding.
"When they get to the point where they truly value themselves and they value their education, they're winning," Jameson said.
Dill and Owen said they've heard many positive comments about the move directly from Graduation Center students.
"Some of our students that need the most help were in the worst facility," Dill said. "We're seeing students taking pride in their school and in themselves."
Originally, the move was supposed to be temporary, as Dill's vision for a larger, more traditional alternative school saw the eventual move of the grad center to the new Mark Twain building where early childhood is currently housed.
But according to Dill, the new facility has presented an option he hadn't considered.
"The close proximity to the high school has presented some unforeseen dividends that we're taking into consideration," he said.
Discussion is underway with the Long Range Planning Committee, but the details are unclear as the Daily American Republic's attempts to be notified of the public meetings have been repeatedly unfulfilled by the Poplar Bluff R-1 School District.