Shiree Lopez left school after only an hour; she said she had to get her alcoholic mother to work on time. Just two days before, Lopez said, she had bailed her mom out of jail.
But Lopez couldn’t find her mother that day after all, and she missed the rest of school too.
The 18-year-old has long been her own parent. She lives by herself, works full time and tries to look after two young brothers who live with her grandmother.
She hasn’t always tried so hard. Expelled from Thomas Jefferson High school for drugs and ditching, she stole cars and spent time in juvenile detention and foster care. By the time she was ready to go back to school, TJ didn’t want her back.
But the Life Skills Center charter school did, she said.
Now she and others like her feel that support is being threatened. The Denver Public Schools board will decide Thursday whether to revoke the school’s charter based on a recommendation by the district’s Office of School Choice.
“This is the last-chance school for us,” Lopez said.
Life Skills received an unfavorable review in January for unacceptable attendance, student achievement and quality of education; failure to provide promised services and support; and failure by the Life Skills board to provide oversight.
District officials say it has taken too long for the company that runs Life Skills to get organized and show results.
“They were supposed to be an expert in meeting the needs of a dropout population,” said Amy Friedman, director of the Office of School Choice. “We expected them to do that from Day One.”
“Fixable” problems
The school was given its charter in 2002 and last year was put on a one-year provisional charter after a similarly negative review.
Life Skills has 265 students, 16 to 21 years old. All of the students dropped out of traditional schools, nearly half are parents or expecting, nearly as many have been incarcerated or in the foster care system, some are recovering from drug addiction, and others work full time to support themselves or their families.
Administrators at Life Skills say the top issues are the attendance rate, which DPS reported at 34 percent, and students earning an average of 2.53 credits per academic year.
The contract requires that students earn 4.2 credits per academic year.
The school is run by White Hat Management, an educational management company that operates the school for the board, which holds the charter, said Bob Tenenbaum, spokesman for White Hat in Ohio.
Life Skills administrators are challenging DPS’s data and say their attendance rate is closer to 60 percent, said Benjamin Valdez, who oversees Life Skills Centers in Denver, Colorado Springs and Arizona.
School officials admit there have been mistakes, but they are working to address the issues, said Ada Diaz Kirby, president of the Life Skills board.
“These kids need us, and we are desperately fighting for them to stay,” Diaz Kirby said. “We’ve worked really hard to build this school. Granted, we have problems with data, but they are fixable.”
Real-life interruptions
For students, attendance sometimes takes a back seat to real- life problems. They appreciate being able to pick up where they left off at the school, which uses a computer-based program.
“Sometimes I have to take care of my daughter,” said Heather Pedigo, 17, who has physical custody of her friend’s 3-year-old.
Life Skills doesn’t dispute the data about credit hours but says it takes students about a year to get into a groove.
DPS officials “do not fully understand the issues students bring with them,” Valdez said. “Before educating them, we must change their mind-set.”
The school reported to DPS that of the 63 students who have been there at least one year, 75 percent averaged 5.48 credits in the previous 12-month period.
It isn’t just the academics students are worried about, said Chelsie Ransbottom, 19. Heroine, meth and ditching got her expelled from Thomas Jefferson.
“At Life Skills they are really supportive, and they make sure I’m not using, and they are concerned about me,” said Ransbottom, who has been sober for two years. She needs nine more credits to graduate.
Students like Ransbottom and Milo Martinez, expelled from North High School for ditching, selling drugs and violence, say they need that extra attention.
“I didn’t think I would make it this far – my mom’s an addict, and I grew up around that and seen lots of violence,” said Martinez, who spent four years in detention centers. He has 3.5 credits left to graduate. “Here, they go that extra mile.”
While Martinez threatens to protest or go on a hunger strike if the school is shuttered, in reality, the others say, they probably won’t get a high school diploma.
District officials say they plan to make sure that doesn’t happen by helping students into other district schools that would meet their needs, Friedman said. Referrals and other requirements will be eliminated to allow students easy access.
For students who feel they finally found the right school, that isn’t enough. They have just one message for the school board: “Live our lives,” or at least take another look at the school.
“They should look at our lives and how this is our last chance,” Lopez said.
Said Ransbottom: “They need to know us before they make a decision. They need to see that this fits.”
Staff writer Elizabeth Aguilera can be reached at 303-954-1372 or eaguilera@denverpost.com.
