Boyce Campus Middle College graduates final class
Cody Stubbs said he wouldn't still be in high school if it wasn't for the personal connections he found at Boyce Campus Middle College.
“I came from Penn Hills (High School) with almost all F's, almost failing out,” he said.
Stubbs was among the students, alumni, educators and relatives who converged on Community College of Allegheny County, Boyce Campus, in Monroeville to see the final class of 14 students graduate from the alternative-education program — designed to function as a support network for students on the verge of dropping out in their home districts — June 3.
“We had kids who weren't going to make it in their schools. We had kids who were bullied. Some were too heavy. Some were gay,” said Carolyn Hassall, the first director of BCMC, as the program was commonly known. “We had all kinds, and nobody cared.”
Current director Robert Patterson said the graduation rate for these students was about 96 percent.
English teacher Michael Flor said this success stemmed from the close bond among students and faculty.
“You have to be able to wear a lot of hats. You're a mentor. You're a family member,” he said after a tearful reunion with two of his former students. “Truly, for many kids, it was the middle college or bust.”
Richard Nowalk, a parent of one of the three Gateway students who graduated this year, called the closure of the program a “shame and a travesty.”
“In the public schools, they teach; you either get it or you don't,” he said. “That didn't happen at BCMC.”
Eleven Penn Hills students graduated from BCMC this year. The last students from Plum graduated last year.
Eight students, all from Penn Hills, must finish high school in their home district.
Acting Superintendent Nancy Hines said Patterson thanked Penn Hills for running the program in its final years.
“My sense from the audience's response to his remarks was that they were grateful for our 2014-15 efforts and seemed to understand we couldn't afford to continue in that capacity,” Hines said in a statement. “PHSD applauds the present and former BCMC staff for facilitating a program that is clearly beloved among students and their families.”
Patterson said the demise of the program came from cutbacks by the students' home districts.
“It's been a struggle to get people to buy into it. Not the kids; the kids love it,” he said. “It's a matter of, the districts refuse to send anybody else right now, even though they realize the benefit of the program.”
The program began in 1995 as a collaboration among four school districts — Woodland Hills, Gateway, Plum Borough and Penn Hills — to curtail dropout rates. Each district provided teachers for the program, and students could take CCAC courses along with high school classes.
In 2012, Woodland Hills withdrew from the program.
Patterson said none of the eight students who returned to their home district when Woodland Hills cut ties with the program completed high school. District Superintendent Alan Johnson couldn't be reached for comment.
With one less district to share the costs of running the program, the remaining members considered creating a charter school, but those plans never materialized.
Instead, Plum and Gateway each agreed in 2013 to pay $7,000 a student until the remaining students from those districts graduated. Penn Hills provided the teachers.
Garrett Jordon Sauers of Monroeville plans to enter CCAC in the fall. Because he has hearing loss in his left ear, he said he benefited from the smaller class sizes that allowed him to work more closely with his teachers than at Gateway High School.
“I've had the same three teachers for the last three years,” he said. “They know me. I know them.”
Gideon Bradshaw is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-871-2369 or gbradshaw@tribweb.com.
