The Success Academy building is located at 1912 N. Lafayette Ave. A school district committee was appointed March 17 to rename the building, because the Success Academy is no longer located there, (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
GRAND ISLAND – A committee was formed March 17 to rename Grand Island Public Schools’ Success Academy because the program is no longer located at that site at 1912 N. Lafayette Ave.
Grand Island Public Schools’ Board of Education voted 7-0 to form an eleven-person committee to make a recommendation about a new name for the building, located northwest of the intersection of State Street and Lafayette Avenue. Board member Amanda Wilson was absent from the March 17 meeting. Board member Lisa Albers was out of state attending an education conference and participated in the meeting via ZOOM. However, she was unable to vote during the meeting.
Mitch Roush, Communications and Marketing Director for Grand Island Public Schools, told the Board of Education that the Success Academy is now located at Islander Annex at 3025 College Street, in the former Principal Financial Group building. The High School Skills Academy is now located in the building at 1912 N. Lafayette Ave.
A Board of Education policy describes the process for naming a school building. Roush noted it is best not to name a building after a program, and that a facility name is needed that can last for decades.
Eleven people were appointed to the renaming committee. They are: Eric Garcia Mendez and Amanda Wilson, Board of Education; Mitch Roush, Communications and Marketing Director for the school district; Dan Petsch, Building and Grounds Director; Renee Engel, Special Education Director for the district; Emily Bailey, a teacher at Gates Elementary School and incoming president of the Grand Island Education Association; Jared Bombeck, a high school administrator; Shaun Willey, a high school counselor; Kelsey Alcorn, a Skills Academy Teacher; and community members Jennifer Worthington (retired) and Amanda Ortiz (YWCA).
The committee will accept suggestions from the staff and public, then make a recommendation to the Board of Education, which will then vote on the matter.
Roush said that the Success Academy moved to the Islander Annex in July 2024.
“Success Academy has seen some growth in the program and was looking for a facility that provided a little more space,” Roush said.
He said that the mission statement for the Success Academy is that it is a “place of knowledge, tolerance, respect and understanding. We welcome the people who want to be here, and invite them to share in our unique learning community. We offer innovative, non-traditional approaches for learners, which aid in achieving academic and lifelong success.”
Roush said that Success Academy is an alternative program that is designed to provide smaller learning environments for students to better thrive, gain career exploration, better connect with peers, and graduate from high school.
Students who are recommended for Success Academy are credit deficient and at risk of dropping out of school, Roush said.
The High School Skills Academy was previously located at the Wyandotte Learning Center (previously Starr Elementary School). When the school district “divested of that facility, the High School Skills program re-housed to the Success Academy facility.”
Roush said the Skills Academy program serves students in grades K-12 who have qualified for special education and have an IEP in place that states the student has a need for significant specialized instruction in the area of social/emotional regulation. A referral must be submitted and accepted in order for a student to transition into the program. The program’s main goal is to help the students build the skills necessary to be successful in order to transition back into the general education classroom. Skills Academy programs are located within Dodge Elementary School, Westridge Middle School, and the modulars at the “Success Academy” facility.
In other business, the Board of Education voted 7-0 to approve a bid from Kidwell Inc. for providing video security equipment for the school district. Building and Grounds Director Dan Petsch said the equipment is for the high school, middle schools, and elementary schools.
The bid includes $1,817,254 for security cameras; $293,469 for vape detection equipment; $21,105 for a bond; and a total cost of $2,131,828. The projected completion date is Dec. 31, 2025.
