On May 29th, The Compass Academy hosted their annual open house. Members of the Community, Chamber of Commerce Members, Local Business Leaders, School Administrators, Compass Academy Families, Students, and Staff attended the event.
Staff writer, Sarah DeSantis of The News Item covered the event. Below is a posting of her article.
MOUNT CARMEL — Students eagerly showing their parents their favorite classrooms and projects clogged the hallways of Compass Academy Friday afternoon.
The alternative school celebrated four years with an open house that included refreshments and tours guided by students.
“I love going to school here,” said William Costello, who originally attended Shamokin Area High School. As he led a tour through the building, he pointed out a wall marking the privilege level of each student. Anyone at level one, he said, was well-behaved enough to earn rewards like playing with a foosball table and going out to lunch on Friday.
Students at Compass Academy chimed in that Friday lunches are a favorite treat. Principal Mark Silvetti said he likes to reward students who receive attendance awards each month by taking them out for lunch.
The reward works in two key ways: by encouraging students who otherwise skip class to show up and by breaking down perceived barriers between students and administration.
“We try to change the perception of a school or administrative role,” Silvetti said.
Students at Compass Academy see more individual attention from their teachers and administrators than a typical high school student. Each class has just seven or eight students, said Silvetti, and teachers call parents weekly.
Though Compass Academy is labelled an alternative school and its students matriculate through referrals from other area high schools, often as a disciplinary action, Silvetti dislikes assumptions that the school is filled with violent criminals.
“I have a problem with people labeling it that without visiting,” he said. “We function just like a public school but we’re much smaller.”
Joe Britto, who teaches clinical, a behavior-building class, said the students are concerned with the same issues as their public school peers — especially the opinions of other people.
“They’re more willing to change their image — how people think about them,” he said. “They know they already have a target on their backs.”
Though just four years old, the school already shows signs of steady success. Attendance is around 90 percent, which, for students who have missed 80 to 90 days before coming to Compass Academy, “is kind of a big deal,” said Silvetti.
Truancy is one of the bigger issues tackled by the administration. If a students are missing without known excuses, Silvetti and other faculty will call their parents, track them down and pick them up.
Though such monitoring might seem oppressive, students expressed appreciation rather than frustration for the care the administration gives them.