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OUR RESULTS
In the spring of 2016, The Center for Educational Excellence in Alternative Settings (CEEAS) applied to open a new school inside of the New Orleans juvenile detention center (called the Youth Study Center). We opened our doors at the detention center just months later, in August of 2016. As a team, our school staff elected to name the school the Travis Hill School.
One year later CEEAS applied to open a second campus, this time inside of the New Orleans adult jail (called the Orleans Justice Center). We started at the jail on August 28, 2017. Here are some updates on our results to date.
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT RESULTS
In Louisiana, there are a handful of high school courses that have standardized, state-mandated End of Course (EOC) exams. Passing the EOC is required to earn credit for the course, and earning credit in these courses is mandatory for students to earn their high school diploma. At the Travis Hill Schools, we do not focus on test prep—we build the curriculum based on short, thematic (change, identity, rights, justice…) units that emphasize relevance and engagement. That said, we believe strongly that our students need to learn core academic skills and need to be able to demonstrate those skills in situations that matter in their lives. And in Louisiana, passing your EOC exams matters—because you can’t otherwise graduate!
EOC Performance
EOC Exams Passed at the Youth Study Center
In our first year of operation at the YSC, Travis Hill students passed 79 EOC exams. The year before, students held at YSC passed only 19 EOC exams.
We more than quadrupled the number of EOC exams passed by students in our first year at YSC
EOC Exams Passed at the Orleans Justice Center
In our first year at OJC, students passed 62 EOC exams. Zero EOC exams were passed or administered in prior years.
Graduations
Since opening our schools, 6 of Travis Hill students have graduated with a high school diploma.
Top Growth School
In the 2017-18 school year, Travis Hill was recognized as a "Top Growth" school in ELA by the Orleans Parish School Board. Over 60% of our students outperformed their peers.
PARENT AND STUDENT SURVEY RESULTS
At Travis Hill, we value the feedback from our students and parents. Some highlights of our 2018 end-of-year survey include--
Parents feel good about the education their children are getting while at Travis Hill.
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Over 90% of our parents rated their children’s experience at Travis Hill as Excellent or Good
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Over 70% of our parents rated Travis Hill school better than the school their child attended prior to being detained
Travis Hill students feel respected, safe and prepared for their next challenge.
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Over 80% of our students commented that they feel well respected by the teachers and school staff
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Over 75% of our students said they feel safe and cared for at Travis Hill (even though the schools are located in a juvenile detention center and adult jail)
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Over 90% of our students reported that they feel prepared to succeed when they are released and return to school in the community
"Once I got locked up, I never thought I would be graduating from high school... But life is like a marathon. It doesn’t matter how you start or how you finish. It’s about every foot, block and mile in between that gets you to the finish line. Some may trip, some may fall down. Some may get distracted and wander onto another path. But as long as we continue to run. Run towards success. Run towards a future. Run towards our dreams. As long as we continue moving forward, we’ll never lose."
- December 2018 Travis Hill School Graduate
“You guys are doing a great job. Keep up the good work.”
-Travis Hill School Parent (June 2018 survey)
