When I was 13, I attended Hope School at South Lansing Street in 2017–2018, and it was the most traumatizing year ever. One time I was in class doing some work on my laptop, and one of my classmates walked up behind me and tried to rip my head off my shoulders, and the teacher saw and did absolutely nothing to help (attempted murder #1).
The second attempt happened weeks later when I was in math class looking for something, and the same person that attempted to murder me walked up to me and grabbed me by the neck, lifted me off the ground, and started squeezing my throat in front of the whole class while the teacher sat and watched.
This was all 6 years ago, and I'm still suffering from the trauma that I've experienced at that school.
DO NOT, AND I REPEAT, DO NOT TAKE YOUR KIDS TO HOPE IF YOU DO NOT WANT THEM TO SUFFER FROM PSYCHOLOGICAL ISSUES LATER ON IN LIFE. AVOID ALL HOPE SCHOOLS LIKE THE PLAGUE. HOPE SCHOOLS ARE BREEDING GROUNDS FOR MENTAL ILLNESS.
My name is Amanda Kalina, and I am the communications manager for HOPE. HOPE Online Learning Academy Co-Op is a K-12 charter school in Colorado serving an at-risk student population. We have been in existence for 12 years and serve about 2,400 students, with hundreds who have earned diplomas from our program. HOPE is not your typical school. Our model is focused around the community. We partner with organizations to run Learning Centers where our students attend. What is great about our Learning Center partners is they are connected to their community and want to make a difference. We work with our Learning Center personnel to provide alternative education pathways to those who want to become licensed teachers. Students who have struggled in other learning environments excel at HOPE in part because of the trust they build with Learning Center staff. They can relate to them and appreciate all they give to them and their education. HOPE does a lot with limited resources, including staff. We all wear multiple hats and do what needs to be done for the kids. This is more than a job. HOPE is a group of individuals trying new approaches to education that is changing lives. I recently visited with many of our staff members, and they reaffirmed to me that HOPE is a place where they can make a difference. Our educators, who have many times been at other schools before coming to HOPE, see that our model allows them to make connections with their students and help them reach graduation day, something the students never thought was possible. Some of our educators have walked in similar shoes of our students and can relate to all of the personal struggles they bring with them to the classroom each day. While our staff might not always giving monetarily, they devote countless hours to making sure HOPE is a place that will help students reach new frontiers in education and in life.
Review from #MyGivingStory