Calif. Dept. of Education says Kings Canyon High School 'sets the bar' for alternative education

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Class is successful league astatine Kings Canyon High School.

Seniors are counting down the days to graduation.

It's a decorativeness enactment galore of them were astatine hazard of not reaching astatine 1 constituent successful their precocious schoolhouse career.

English teacher Oscar Hernandez says the students each person antithetic reasons for coming present alternatively of a broad precocious school.

"Could've been survey skills, could've been attendance, could've been a batch of things," Hernandez said.

The people sizes are small, and the unit takes pridefulness successful knowing each of their students by name.

"It's emblematic that if a pupil is absent connected the adjacent day, we say, 'Hey, we missed you yesterday.' truthful they're seen," Hernandez said.

The full unit is trauma-informed and trauma-trained.

There's a full-time societal idiosyncratic on-site to assistance students.

Hernandez says due to the fact that of that approach, they haven't had a combat connected field successful years.

"We don't truly person subject issues successful our schoolroom due to the fact that we're capable to instrumentality attraction of immoderate of those social-emotional issues done our enactment services, and that allows america arsenic teachers to teach, students to learn. It's conscionable a large place," Hernandez said.

Students announcement the other attention.

Senior Vianca Villasenor says she appreciates the enactment she receives from the staff.

"They ne'er marque you consciousness alone. You're ever going to person idiosyncratic to speech to her," Villasenor said.

Laressa Dedios agreed the added enactment plays a large relation successful her success.

"Every time that we're here, they admit our existence. That's what makes america consciousness invited here, and that's what makes america privation to aftermath up each time and privation to graduate." Dedios said.

The field is designed with a calming effect.

Lawn chairs for lounging and flowers to marque definite students bask wherever they walk astir of their time.

Student enactment is showcased connected schoolroom walls, and tract trips are utilized arsenic incentives for students who scope definite goals.

The enactment being done astatine KCHS caught the oculus of the California Department of Education, who said the schoolhouse "set the barroom for alternate acquisition schools successful California."

But that's not a astonishment to Laressa oregon Vianca.

KCHS is besides making definite students are prepared for beingness aft precocious school.

More than 20 students are taking classes astatine Reedley College with immoderate taking Career Technical Education classes.

Hernandez says his extremity each twelvemonth is to ticker students postgraduate and hole them for what comes next.

"The biggest reward is knowing that our students are having occurrence aft precocious school," Hernandez said.

This is the 2nd clip they person been named a exemplary school. The past clip was successful 2019.

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