Student Audience
Phoenix Rising is a partnership between our school district and the city’s juvenile bureau. Most students are fast-tracked into my small school because they are involved in the juvenile justice system; others are not “in the system,” but they share characteristics that make this the best school for them. It was created because of the great need for a school or program that could accommodate a concentrated number of students with histories of severe discipline problems, chronic and temporary trauma, and the challenges of substance abuse and other dysfunctions that accompany these things. This is the last stop for most of them academically; they have been suspended too often or were unsuccessful in the district’s large traditional schools. It is a therapeutic, not punitive program. It also happens that our school family encounters mental health issues among students and their families with unusual regularity; often these issues are related to other challenges described above. We are lucky to have social work resources and partnerships to help us help our students and their families. While we are responsible for meeting state and federal mandates, often our first objectives for our students are to teach them how to be students and feel safe and successful again. With careful consideration this unit can honor the mental health struggles we experience in our classes.
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