BRIDGES PREPARATORY ACADEMY

BRIDGES PREPARATORY ACADEMY IS A NEWLY ESTABLISHED CHARTER SCHOOL THAT OPENED ITS DOORS TO THE COMMUNITY OF COMPTON IN FALL 2021, OFFERING A RIGOROUS COLLEGE PREPARATORY EDUCATION PROGRAM. BRIDGES PREPARATORY ACADEMY SERVED 151 STUDENTS IN GRADES 6-8 AND REFLECTS THE COMMUNITY WE SERVE WITH APPROXIMATELY 78% HISPANIC, 22% AFRICAN AMERICAN, 14% STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, 25% ENGLISH LEARNERS, AND 89% SOCIO-ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED. BRIDGES PREPARATORY ACADEMY'S UNIQUE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM WAS SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO SERVE THE ACADEMIC, SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL, AND BEHAVIORAL NEEDS THROUGH A TRAUMA SENSITIVE APPROACH UTILIZING POSITIVE BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS AND SUPPORTS (PBIS), WAY OF COUNCIL TO ESTABLISH A POSITIVE SCHOOL CLIMATE TO SUPPORT CHILDHOOD TRAUMA THE ADOLESCENTS OF COMPTON HAVE FACED. OUR EDUCATIONAL MODEL EQUIPS ALL STUDENTS WITH A RIGOROUS, STANDARD ALIGNED COLLEGE PREPARATORY CURRICULUM, WHILE INTEGRATING SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL) TO ADDRESS THE ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES (ACES) THEY HAVE FACED. BPA IMPLEMENTS A "WHOLE CHILD APPROACH" TO EDUCATION. BRIDGES PREPARATORY ACADEMY IS AN INNOVATIVE MIDDLE SCHOOL WITH A STRONG FOCUS ON ACADEMICS, CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP ACROSS ALL STUDENT GROUPS WITH A DOUBLE-BLOCK ELA/MATH, AND DAILY LEARNING LAB, AND A DAILY ADVISORY PROGRAM THAT STARTS THE DAY WITH SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING, EMBEDDED IN DAILY INSTRUCTION & ACROSS ALL DISCIPLINES. BRIDGES PREPARATORY ACADEMY WAS RECENTLY AWARDED THE MTSS SUMS PHASE 3 GRANT WHICH PROVIDES THE ENTIRE STAFF WITH COMPREHENSIVE MTSS TRAINING AND COACHING. BRIDGES PREPARATORY ACADEMY'S EDUCATIONAL MODEL AND PROGRAM IS BUILT ON THE MTSS FRAMEWORK. THE STAFF AT BRIDGES PREPARATORY PROVIDED ALL STUDENTS WITH A WARM, NURTURING, WELCOMING, AND SAFE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT COUPLED WITH OUR SEL PROGRAM INCLUDING ONSITE COUNSELING SERVICES WHICH ADDRESSED STUDENT SEL NEEDS, THEREBY CREATING A POSITIVE SCHOOL CLIMATE. BRIDGES PREPARATORY ACADEMY IMPLEMENTED PBIS COMBINED WITH RESTORATIVE PRACTICES THAT INCLUDED STUDENT VOICE, AS AN INTEGRAL COMPONENT, THROUGH STUDENT LEADERSHIP COUNCIL, AND STUDENT AMBASSADORS. THESE TWO STUDENT GROUPS MEET ON A BI-MONTHLY BASIS TO DISCUSS SCHOOLWIDE ACTIVITIES AND INITIATIVES THAT PROMOTE THE "CHARACTER TRAIT OF THE MONTH, AND DESIGN ACTIVITIES THAT PROMOTE ACTS OF KINDNESS AND A GROWTH MINDSET WITH ACADEMIC LEARNING AND SELF-AWARENESS. WE START EACH MORNING WITH A SEL STUDENT CHECK-IN FOR APPROXIMATELY 30 MINUTES, ASKING STUDENTS "HOW ARE YOU FEELING?" WHEN WE IDENTIFIED BULLYING AT THE SCHOOL, WE SHIFTED THE MINDSET AND PERSPECTIVE OF "SNITCHING" TO THE PERSPECTIVE THAT IF A STUDENT REPORTS IT TO AN ADULT AT THE SCHOOL, THEY ARE ACTUALLY HELPING THE STUDENT WHO IS BULLYING. THROUGH OUR SEL LESSONS WE FOCUSED ON ROOT CAUSES OF BULLYING, AND EXPLAINED IT WAS A SIGN THAT THE STUDENT NEEDED HELP. BOTH THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND COUNSELOR PROVIDE COUNSELING SESSIONS. WE ALSO ANALYZED ATTENDANCE DATA AND IDENTIFIED COMMON THEMES, INCLUDING FRIDAYS HAD THE LOWEST ATTENDANCE RATE. TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE, WE ADDED AFTER-SCHOOL CLUBS ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON THAT WERE OF HIGH INTEREST TO OUR STUDENTS, THIS RESULTED IN HIGH ATTENDANCE RATES ON FRIDAYS. WHEN A STUDENT IS ABSENT, OUR STAFF CONTACTS THE FAMILY TO ASK "IS YOUR CHILD OK? WE WERE CONCERNED BECAUSE HE/SHE WAS NOT IN SCHOOL TODAY. WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP?" THIS APPROACH RESULTED IN FAMILIES BEING HONEST AND CREATED COMMUNITY. OVERALL, BRIDGES PREPARATORY ACADEMY HAS BEEN SEEN AS THE MIDDLE SCHOOL TO ATTEND IN COMPTON. TWENTY PERCENT OF OUR CURRENT ENROLLMENT ARE FROM STUDENTS THAT LIVE IN COMPTON BUT HAVE LEFT THE DISTRICT SCHOOLS AND RETURNED. WE ARE ALSO PROUD TO SAY THAT EIGHTY PERCENT OF OUR STUDENTS HAVE GROWN ONE GRADE LEVEL OR HIGHER SINCE BEING WITH BRIDGES PREPARATORY ACADEMY. FINALLY, WE HAD A NINETY-FIVE PERCENT AVERAGE ATTENDANCE RATE IN OUR FIRST ACADEMIC SCHOOL YEAR.