P.I.A. graduates 32 students in Class of 2006
When the Presque Isle Academy (PIA) opened its doors in 2002, it did so with the goal of reaching students educationally who could not be reached in a traditional classroom setting.
After its first year, PIA proudly graduated its first two students, and its success has grown steadily ever since. Last Thursday, the PIA graduated its largest class yet, the 32 students of the Class of 2006.
THE PIA was created after a 1999 study by the Cheboygan-Otsego-Presque Isle Educational Service District (COPESD), which identified a Presque Isle County high school dropout rate of 25 percent. Having one in four students unable to complete their education in a typical high school setting was not acceptable, and it triggered a meeting between the COPESD and the superintendents of the schools in Onaway, Rogers City and Posen. The result was an alternative school chartered by the COPESD and named the Presque Isle Academy.
Current principal, Rick Bongard, became involved with PIA in 2002 after much success with working with at-risk students at Onaway High School.
?We began with only six students,? said Bongard. ?Since that time, PIA has moved to a new building, expanded programming, and enrollment has grown to 75 stu
BONGARD SAID that PIA is an ?innovative educational experience? focused on non-traditional programs. ?We are here for kids who were not successful, for whatever reason, in traditional schools,? said Bongard. ?Our goal is to support Presque Isle County schools; not to compete for students.?
According to Bongard, educational opportunities are enhanced at PIA by developing programs based on students? individual needs and circumstances. ?Most of all, our staff cares deeply about the kids, and appreciates how individual life experiences can shape the attitudes of young people,? said Bongard.
Each year, the school staff chooses students who have made outstanding positive changes in their lives to speak at the graduation ceremony. This year, three students were asked to speak: Christina Athan, T.J. DeMoines, and Julie Tucker. For more information on PIA, visit its website at www.presqueisleacademy.com.