Another choice . . . another chance

In the fall of 1994 New Beginnings High School opened its doors as the first full service alternative high school serving Cedar Springs and surrounding areas. The purpose of New Beginnings was to give another chance to students who were at risk of not graduating from a traditional high school setting. The school opened its doors with approximately 35 students in attendance. The first graduating class was a small group of seven students compared to the Class of 2009 with 27 graduates.

Over the past 15 years, NBHS has graduated over 150 students from the Cedar Springs area. Many of these students have confided in staff and teachers that the goal of realizing the completion of their high school diploma would not have been possible had they not had the option of an alternative high school. A large majority of students continue to be enrolled in post-secondary studies in college and trade schools.

While the program is proud of all of its graduates, some have reached and even exceeded our and their own expectations. Students frequently stop back to share success stories happening in their life with staff. Graduates of New Beginnings are successfully employed in fields ranging from the legal and medical professions to skilled trades and general labor.

New Beginnings has an excellent working relationship with Cedar Springs High School. It is truly a team effort involving both schools to identify students that will find the most success in the alternative setting. We pride ourselves in providing a smaller setting with our current capacity being approximately 90 students. This tends to give students a sense of pride and belonging, often lost for them in the larger setting. Along with the CSHS, New Beginnings High School prepares its students for the challenging work ahead of them by being aligned with the Michigan Merit Curriculum required by every public high school in the state of Michigan. Students meet regularly with staff to discuss progress and set goals for completion of this very rigorous curriculum.

Currently, approximately 30 students are working toward completion of their high school requirements by June 2010. While we enjoy looking back at past successes we continue to be focused on looking ahead with the premise that all students can learn and realize their goal of receiving their high school diploma.