School Culture
Believe schools are committed to supporting young adults through a Youth Development model. Our schools are founded on the principle that access to academic and emotional guidance and counseling is critical to student success. Students are surrounded by a committed team of faculty and staff who specialize in supporting students' various needs.
Believe schools build a sense of community and cohesion with a great deal of individualized attention to the young adults in their grades. Student support teams ensure that individual students do not "slip through the cracks" as can happen at other large high schools. Student support teams include with some minor variation at each school, an academic guidance counselor, a social-emotional counselor, a special education teacher, a social worker and an at-risk/intervention specialist, so that the team can problem-solve and address the social and academic needs of all of the students in their grade.
Freshmen have very different needs than seniors, so support teams are created with the developmental needs of each grade in mind. This multi-tiered support ensures the social and emotional success of our young adults in a way that traditionally-designed schools do not.
In addition to the support provided by each student support team, all young adults are assigned an advisor who is their guide, mentor, and facilitator throughout their high school years in a Believe school. Advisors conduct and lead the advisory sessions which include, study organizational skills building, life skills, career skills, individualized student support activities and goal setting for the years in high school and beyond. The Advisor also interacts with parents; they are the first “go to” adult for any significant issues regarding personal and academic growth.