In 10 years as a teacher for students confined to their homes with serious and sometimes life-ending illnesses, Catherine Carnline came to many realizations. One of them is the high value that people place on learning.
"I was teaching a child who was dying, and her last words to me the day before she died were ‘Ms. Carnline, don’t worry, I’ll get that homework in.’ That really made it clear to me that people have a desire to learn that lasts as long as life endures," she says.
Now, as principal of Putnam City’s STRIVE Program, Carnline is directing the learning of 100-plus students who either cannot be in a traditional classroom or have not succeeded in one. All of them love learning, although some, Carnline says, don’t know it yet.
STRIVE is not a school, but rather a collection of services. The diversity of students served by STRIVE is staggering. There are students who are National Merit semifinalists and students who score in the high 30s on their ACT. There are students whose grades and attendance are poor. There are students with serious behavioral issues and a history of fighting at school, and students whose behavior has taken them through the legal system and left them on parole. There are students who cannot leave their homes because they are physically fragile from cancer, diabetes, scoliosis or a score of other conditions, or emotionally fragile due to depression or anxiety.
To categorize the students at STRIVE, it’s easiest to describe them by when and where they go to school. Students who make use of STRIVE fall into three categories.
Morning and Afternoon Program
In the morning and afternoon, STRIVE helps special education students who have had difficulty earning high school credit in the traditional educational setting. These students come to the STRIVE Center on N.W. 23rd just east of Council to learn and earn. Students use a specialized curriculum to earn high school credit at an accelerated pace. Students in this program are engaged in either work-study or vocational school for high school credit.
Evening Program
A second group of students is helped in the evening program, which lasts from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Both special education and regular education students attend classes with a ratio of three students to a teacher. The small class size allows teachers to nurture as well as teach, Carnline says.
"A lot of these students have never experienced success in school. With just three students in a class, they not only get the material, but they also get a lot of personal attention," Carnline says.
Students are strongly encouraged to be employed during the day time hours or attend a vocational school.
Home Instruction
STRIVE also sends teachers into students' homes or hospital rooms when they have a disability, illness or injury that leaves them unable to attend school. Some students might not be able to come for a couple of weeks or more, such as students with muscular dystrophy, cancer or anxiety disorders, or even the football player last year who was recovering from surgery for a torn ACL.
Some students receive instruction at home or at libraries or other public settings because a history of volatility and fighting at school means they cannot share a classroom with other students.
People Make a Difference
Working with all the students are teachers devoted to their students.
"In a profession marked by dedication, the teachers here are among the most dedicated you’ll find. They see value in these students and see value in small class sizes where they can develop relationships with their students. Their commitment is remarkable," Carnline says.
Carline also praises the bus drivers that bring students to the evening program.
"They invest so much. They mentor the students, praise the students and support them in whatever ways they can. They observe classes and see what we’re trying to do. They’re just good people," Carnline says.
Success Stories
Carnline points with pride to many successes of STRIVE students.
There was a student whose severe anxiety disorder forced his STRIVE instructor to teach him through his locked bedroom door – the teacher on one side, the student on the other – for a year. The student was then persuaded to try the evening program, eventually graduated from high school and is now in college.
There was the student who was absent every single day in one quarter at her high school. At STRIVE, she has perfect attendance.
There are students who never made above a failing grade in high school but now have all As at STRIVE.
There are students who quit trying to be class clowns – with just three students in a class, there’s not much of an audience, says Carnline – and settled down at STRIVE to be models of classroom success.
Best of all, Carnline says, last year 22 STRIVE students graduated from high school. That means 22 new photos will be added to STRIVE’s wall of fame.
"We have a lot of different programs we can offer here. Without those options, a majority of our students would probably drop out of high school. Many would never have the opportunity to go on to college or a career. We’re not just educating students. We’re also helping them build lives and futures," Carnline says.