For Hannah Moyle, the traditional high school experience wasn’t working. Moyle struggled at two different schools in Puyallup due to large class sizes that exacerbated her social anxiety and made it nearly impossible for her to concentrate on school work.
Moyle, 17, eventually dropped out of school early on in her senior year.
“I just couldn’t handle it,” she said.
Shortly thereafter, the mother of one of Moyle’s good friends recommended she enroll in the GRAVITY program, which helps students receive their GED in a less traditional educational environment. After being in the program for three months, Moyle has received her GED and is now looking toward furthering her education.
Moyle isn’t an exception to the rule, with 90 students obtaining their GED since 2012 through the program, which has proven to be an effective setting for students struggling in the K-12 system. The program’s acronym stands for G.E.D Re-engagement Alternative Vocational Individualized Training for Youth.
GRAVITY is housed in the former Alexander Young Elementary school in Aberdeen and began in 2011 after state legislation established “re-engagement” programs for students aged 16-21 who have struggled in school, dropped out or were not receiving enough credits to graduate on time.
Students are usually referred to the program for problems with truancy, lack of access to individualized instruction, too few high school credits, unstable family support systems, homelessness, poverty and/or involvement with the juvenile court system.
The program serves students from 10 different school districts in Grays Harbor County and two in Pacific County. The all-year program had only 15 students when it started and now has approximately 100 kids enrolled. Since its inception in 2011, it has been replicated at three other centers in Thurston, Mason and Lewis counties.
GRAVITY, which is funded by the state and managed by Educational Service District 113 in Tumwater, helps students like Moyle by adapting to their particular learning styles. One aspect of the program that students say works well is the flexibility it provides, with students being able to choose when they do and don’t come to school. This allows them to work around busy family and work schedules. The school operates based on progress, not seat time.
So, even though the building is opened to students from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the scene at the former elementary school doesn’t at all resemble a normal educational setting. Students are scattered around the former elementary school rooms, coming and going as they need to.
“There are a lot of different learning styles. For some kids, one way doesn’t work as well as the other,” said program Administrator Ed Liedtke. “We work on a schedule and learning plan that works for them.”
GRAVITY focuses on more than just academic success, helping students connect with agencies that can provide them with essential needs like housing, clothing and food. Catholic Community Services of Western Washington, YMCA of Grays Harbor and Coastal Community Action Program are among the groups that have partnered with the school to provide services.
“The people go out of their way to help you here,” said student Anthony Randall Young Jr. Young said instructors at GRAVITY helped him obtain an ID, birth certificate and Social Security card. Some form of identification is required for taking the GED test, which the school pays students to take.
Without this assistance, many students wouldn’t be able to enjoy some of the perks of being a teenager that others take for granted, like getting a driver’s license. The school has worked in partnership with Cascade Driving School to provide licenses for students, using donated funds.
“It’s such a rite of passage that our kids wouldn’t get to partake in otherwise,” said Gravity Case Manager and Instructional Assistant Aaron Gillies.
Charles Sutliff, who was in Olympia before coming to the GRAVITY program on Grays Harbor, got his food handlers card with the help of the program and has signed up for training with GRAVITY that will teach him how to run a forklift. He said he hopes GRAVITY will help him get into Grays Harbor College.
“I don’t know if I would’ve decided to go to college if I weren’t enrolled in GRAVITY,” he said, explaining that the help they have provided has made that goal seem attainable.
Liedtke said partnerships with Grays Harbor College and the public school districts have been extremely beneficial to GRAVITY, adding that the vocational programs available to students wouldn’t be an option if it weren’t for these collaborations.
Since completing her GED, Moyle is now working with GRAVITY on scholarship essays for college as well as finding an accounting internship. Liedtke said the program in no way ends after passing the GED test, explaining that staff helps students with resume writing, scholarships and getting them in touch with people who can help them succeed.
With smaller enrollment numbers, the GRAVITY program also gives students more one-on-one time with the program’s six instructors.
“There’s always somebody to help you. You never have to come in at a certain time when somebody’s not busy,” said Sutliff.
AmeriCorps member Clara Bowers, who works at GRAVITY as a tutor, says success within the program is just as reliant on the students as it is the teachers.
“The most rewarding part about working here is seeing these students transform themselves. They’re taking control of their education,” said Bowers.
Bowers mentioned the “Kudos Board” in one of the classrooms that acknowledges students’ successes, saying it serves as a great motivator.
“(The board) is a reminder that they’re progressing,” she said.
GRAVITY has received more referrals this year that they ever have in the past and both Liedtke and Gillies are more than happy to continue providing services for as many students as they can.
“Each kid has a plan and we’re working with them to develop that plan,” said Gillies.
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