KENZIE MATTOX did schoolwork at Safe Harbor Academy recently while her classroom’s pet, a bearded dragon named Dino Nugget, sat on her shoulder. Having a critter in class is comforting for students, Kenzie says. (Photo by Bob Vlach)
STEPHEN POWERS, a math teacher at Safe Harbor for 13 years, says he tries to apply what students are learning in class to real life. “I try to teach them what we’re doing is problem-solving, and it doesn’t matter where you are in life being able to problem-solve … will translate to any life skill that they want.” (Photo by Bob Vlach)
KRISTIN WILSON, who spent 11 years at Woodford County High School before coming to Safe Harbor this school year, is pictured with student Michael Begley. “Communication is huge here,” Wilson says. “You cannot run a program like this without solid communication.” (Photo by Bob Vlach)
Before becoming the guidance counselor at Safe Harbor Academy this school year, Kristin Wilson says she knew that they did great things in the alternative school program.
But it wasn’t until this former Woodford County High School counselor started working alongside “a great leader … and great teachers and staff” at Safe Harbor Academy that she got to experience what they provide to students.
“It’s mind-blowing what they do in this tiny school,” she says during a recent visit by the Sun.
She loves the mindset at Safe Harbor: “New mercies every morning. Wipe the slate clean. We don’t worry about what happened yesterday. We drive forward. … Who doesn’t need that? Everybody needs grace. And that’s what this school embodies is grace and fresh starts – every day.”
During his 12 years at Safe Harbor, Logan Culbertson says the program has evolved from being a partnership with the Methodist Home for Children to providing education options for middle and high school students in Woodford County Public Schools.
“We serve a social-emotional need that’s ever-evolving,” says the coordinator of alternative programs.
Culbertson says some Safe Harbor students are behind their peers academically, while others are ahead. One student has recently started taking a dual-credit class, says Wilson.
Students may be at Safe Harbor for behavioral or social-emotional reasons – or maybe it’s something “that has nothing to do with school,” says Culbertson.
He says Safe Harbor Academy can benefit a student for different reasons. Many students choose (through an application process) to come here – and it’s for a variety of reasons. And “sometimes it’s a good fit, and sometimes it’s not,” he adds.
WCHS has more people and resources than Safe Harbor, but “the high school is a much bigger population than we are,” he says. “So the resources and the supports are just different.”
Making connections with his students and watching their growth during his 13 years at Safe Harbor has given math teacher Stephen Powers a sense of pride because he gets to make a difference in the lives of students who often have a lot to overcome. Listening to how much one of his students dealt with before coming to school made him ask himself, “How did you even show up today?”
That experience also gave Powers an understanding of the resiliency that some students at Safe Harbor exemplify when “most people … would curl up under the covers and not get out of bed,” he says.
With four classrooms and a current population of fewer than 30 students, staffers at Safe Harbor must work very closely together on the needs of students.
“Communication is huge here,” says Wilson. “You cannot run a program like this without solid communication.” So when a student isn’t feeling well emotionally, everyone knows what needs may arise, she explains.
It’s not uncommon for teachers and staffers to ask students, “How can I help your family? What can I do to support you? That happens all (the) time. If there is a need for the student or the family, this staff is going to do what we have to do to support them,” says Wilson.
Bottom line, she adds later, “Every parent or caregiver loves their child. And that love will allow them to do what’s needed.
“… And if there’s a barrier for them, we’re going to try to support them as well because that helps the student.”
And like their parents, she says, “I want them to be better when they leave here than when they came.”
So whether that means continuing their education or being employed or joining the military, “we want to make sure that we’re connected for that next step to occur,” adds Culbertson.
Safe Harbor has a capacity for 35 students, with the number of middle and high school students (ages 11 to 21) changing based on individual needs – whether they’ve applied to be in the alternative program or have been placed in the program, Culbertson says.
He says transitioning to a new school – a repurposed wing of classrooms in the former WCHS building – will give Safe Harbor students more access to technical and career education opportunities next school year.
Eventually, when staffing can grow, more students can be served at Safe Harbor, Culbertson says. Also, a long-term goal is expanding direct instruction in the core subjects to middle school students, he adds.
“We’ve been blessed in that we have people that are here in the right position for the right reasons,” says Culbertson.
In addition to having “the best interest of students – all day, every day,” his team is “willing to have tough conversations to figure out what right looks like,” he adds.
Wilson, a former first and second grade teacher at Simmons Elementary, who’s been in Woodford County Public Schools for 21 years, says, “Safe Harbor is the best-kept secret in Versailles. I mean it really is.”