Bryan is an 8th grader at Pivot Charter School, and is excited to start the high school program next year.
Bryan struggled with organization at his traditional middle school – he had trouble remembering to turn in his assignments on time and frequently lost work that he had done. He experienced some bullying at his old school, as well, and was having migraines more severely and frequently than he had in the past. “Bryan has always experienced pediatric migraines”, said his mother Amy, “but the stress of the transition to middle school was taking a physical toll on him. By the end of the year, he was missing about one day a week of school, and we knew that just wasn’t a recipe for academic success.”
Bryan also found the traditional school was not challenging enough academically. “I was really bored waiting for other kids to finish their work when I had already finished and was ready to move on”, Bryan said.
Amy felt like they needed some alternatives for Bryan and to make a drastic change in academic environment for him. When she found Pivot and visited the resource center, she felt like it was a good fit. Said Amy, “I knew Bryan needed to be held responsible for being more organized, but also needed a safe place to learn at his own pace and at his level, and Pivot offered all of that.”
Bryan is loving Pivot and finding success there both academically and socially. He has improved his organization skills dramatically and finds his classes to be just the right balance of challenging and interesting. He is currently finishing his eighth grade core classes and working at an accelerated pace by taking high school level Mandarin and Computer Programming electives. “Pivot brought Mandarin to the curriculum because I expressed an interest in it,” Bryan said, “and that class, along with the Computer Programming elective has been so fun and engaging for me.”
His Educational Coordinator (assigned credentialed teacher) Ms. Vining says, “Bryan has shown what you can accomplish when you are determined and dedicated. The programs offered at Pivot have allowed him to go beyond his 8th grade courses and take high school level electives, and he is showing great strides academically and organizationally.”
Bryan has also started a writers’ workshop at the Pivot Resource Center. Interested students meet one day a week with one of the Educational Coordinators, and work on creative writing projects. “Because Pivot is a smaller school, I have the opportunity to see my suggestions put into action,” Bryan said. “It’s a great environment for kids who want to take on leadership roles or put their ideas to work”.