At-risk youth and students looking for an alternative education option in the Colorado Springs area are experiencing school like never before.

Fountain’s Welte Education Center restructured its schedule this fall after becoming the first local school to participate in Big Picture Learning, an education approach driven by student interests and real-world experiences. While the alternative high school still offers standard reading, writing and arithmetic classes three days a week, it now carves out two days — Tuesday and Thursday — as advisory days, when students work on career development skills, interest-based projects, community building and career shadowing.

The BPL model fit well with the existing culture at the small school, which serves approximately 100 students, according to Principal Cito Nuhn. Classes are capped at 20 students, allowing more time for teachers and staff to invest one-on-one attention in their students’ interests.

“When looking at at-risk youth, they’re at risk for a reason,” said longtime math teacher John Bishop. Those students might struggle with big crowds at a typical high school, have attendance issues or lack credit because they failed too many classes. “You have to find a way to get them back interested in high school so they can earn a high school diploma and make themselves a little more valuable as an adult and employable because they finished something that you started.”

Advisory days begin with community building exercises such as group Mad Libs before splitting off into advisee groups. Bishop said the 11 seniors he works with are currently focusing on resume building before advancing next month to job interview training. His goal, he said, is for every one of his students to leave for Christmas break with a job shadow or internship in place for the second semester.

Welte Education Center math teacher John Bishop gives students instructions for an assignment in which they will create a resume.

Parker Seibold, the gazette

Interests naturally vary among students. Bishop’s senior class alone has students interested in architecture, criminal psychology, journalism and the Navy, he said. The shadowing structure is ideal for those students to get a jump-start on their field of choice.

But even for those who remain unsure as to where their passions lie, Nuhn said the BPL approach offers ample time to explore via “leave to learn” days, wherein students take coordinated group field trips.

“Young people, they don’t know what they don’t know,” Nuhn said. Leave to learn days seek to broaden their horizons.

Nuhn began the year by posting chart paper in the cafeteria for students to write suggestions on where they’d like to go or what industries they’d like to learn more about. So far this year, students have toured the Fountain Fire Department, Hellscream Haunted House and a music studio, which inspired them to start building their own studio back at Welte.

Students and staff do the daily fist-bump as students enter Welte Education Center on Tuesday.

Parker Seibold. the gazette

The result has been a more engaged class with students who want to show up, according to senior Nani Santiago. She’s noticed improved attendance in some of her peers and appreciates that students are encouraged to connect with industry professionals in career paths of personal interest.

As teachers notice a shift for the better in some students’ attendance, Bishop said he, too, can’t help but feel energized by BPL. Gone are the days of same-old, five-day-a-week math lessons. In their place, he said, is a truly alternative education.

“I wish somebody, when I was in school, would have asked me, ‘What do you want to do? What’s your interest?’ They’re in a unique situation right now where they can do a deep-dive into their own interests and what they want to do and have a chance to pursue that, and that’s exciting,” Bishop said. “That’s exciting for me.”