Every Student Deserves a Legacy 2007:
Real-life stories from the front lines of high school reform

A Fresh Start

Dayton Early College Academy, Dayton, Ohio
First-year academy eases transition for incoming students, including one determined to turn her life around

Dayton Early College Academy opened in 2003 as one of 21 new early college high schools in the country. A joint partnership between Dayton Public Schools and the University of Dayton, DECA combined high school and college instruction. It replaced traditional grades, courses and schedules with personalized, interest-driven learning experiences linked to state standards and assessed in terms of students' proficiency.

By the time DECA was entering its fourth year in fall 2006, the school continued to evolve rapidly, adding structure and adapting programs to meet the needs of its growing student body. With the promise of the school's first graduation in May and the launch of a rigorous new First Year Academy for incoming freshmen, DECA seemed poised for success. Even so, scrutiny of the school promised to be more intense than ever, with expectations among supporters and skeptics alike threatening to eclipse the accomplishments of what remained, in essence, an ambitious experiment still in the early stages of its evolution.

On a sweltering morning in mid-June, Marissa Meredith arrives at the Dayton Early College Academy (DECA) for freshman orientation. A thin, pale girl with her dark hair pulled back in a severe bun, Marissa seems more intent on the lectures and lessons, less uncomfortable with the demands outlined by the DECA faculty, than many of her fellow students.

Like Marissa, the other 60 or so teenagers in attendance have accepted, albeit often grudgingly, the prospect of three full days of simulated school during the first week of summer vacation. This is the price of admission for those who hope to attend this unique public school, which offers a safe and supportive environment, strong academics and a chance to earn extensive college credit while working toward a high school diploma.

For Marissa, the drive to enroll in a school like DECA is still more urgent: she wants a better life for her daughter.

"I don't want her to have to go through the things I went through," she says firmly, without elaborating. Being apart from Neveah, who was born less than a month before the orientation, is hard, but Marissa knows education is the key to her goals.

"My daughter motivates me," she writes in an early entry in her school journal, "because if I do not succeed, how can I expect my daughter to?"

Before Neveah was born, Marissa attended a charter school for high-risk students. She didn't like being segregated with a group of new or expectant teen mothers, and she rankled under the low expectations everyone had for her.

The school was considered "a last-chance school," Marissa says, "but I was getting straight A's, so I was not a last-chance student."

A difficult pregnancy and the anxiety of preparing for parenthood offered ready excuses for losing focus, but Marissa stayed on track with her schoolwork.

"When I was nine-months pregnant, my GPA was 3.8."

That same determination is evident during her orientation, which is both a demanding preview of DECA life and a chance for the faculty to personally evaluate prospective students.

"They were preparing us for college before we even walked in the door," Marissa says. "You had to have letters of recommendation, and tests, and an essay, and you had to come interview."

Given all the strict requirements, Marissa says, "getting into DECA was a little like getting into college."

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