Ep 181 | From F to Honor Roll: the SOAR Academy story

SPEAKER_00 0:00

So, how can we tell them to get back on track if you never had a track? If you never had a strong foundation or structure or discipline in your life, how could you get back on track? So, my goal is to develop a track. Give you some guidance on how to get from point A to point B. And once they get it, it's no stopping them. It's no stopping.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Welcome to the Voices United in Education podcast. Each week, we showcase the teachers, administrators, and community members who go the extra mile to contribute to the success of every child in Escambia County. You'll meet the real people behind the titles and learn about the amazing resources to support your child's success. When students get behind in school, the struggle can grow beyond academic milestones. For students entering high school, it means passing their age group peers in the hall as they go to different classes, trying to fit in with younger, potentially less mature students, and a wrestling match with a sense of dignity that doesn't just repair itself after graduation. My next guest is part of an innovative program unique to Pine Forest High School that is working to support students for positive outcomes and strong momentum. Today he's going to share both how the students and the program are evolving and what students have to say about its impact. Former firefighter and current director of SOAR Academy with total dad vibes and a coach's heart, Marquette Oliver. Welcome back.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

Well, thank you for having me. Nice to be here today.

SPEAKER_01 1:42

Well, so where does the SOAR name come from?

SPEAKER_00 1:45

Well, the SOR name came from um Eagles. We soar. So Eagles is our mascot, and we always say we soaring. We're flying higher than anybody else, so we're soaring.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

Did you think of that?

SPEAKER_00 1:58

No, actually, my former principal came up with the name when she developed the program.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

But this program is pretty new, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 2:06

Yes, ma'am. It's going on its third year now.

SPEAKER_01 2:09

Wow, that's exciting. And it's not a curriculum and it's not an IEP. Can you explain the program to those only familiar with those kind of traditional frameworks?

SPEAKER_00 2:22

Well, so it's an acceleration program and a career exploration program for kids that are more likely at risk, what we call at-risk students. So we want to get those kids, get them caught up, give them opportunities and the resources that they can get a trade or get a job and accelerate them and get them out in the public to be productive citizens. And through this program, we build kids up. It's a second chance. I tell them when they come in to me, hey, no matter what you did, no matter the bad decisions you made or mistakes you made, our ultimate goal is to graduate. And we're gonna do this together. We're gonna, all the kids in the class, we're united. We're gonna do this together. It's a team effort, but it's also an individual effort. And if you trust in the process and believe in me and let me guide you and lead you, you will graduate. And most kids buy in. And once they get started and we get the rolling, and we have weekly goals that we have to meet. So when we start a class today, you had 0%. My goal for you today is gonna be 15 to 25 by the end of the class period. So majority of them meet their goals. And then it starts to get competitive because I add incentives here.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

So see, that's where the dad vibes plus coach come in. You know, you're like, it's okay, everything's okay. Dad vibe. All right, y'all. We are going to beat this other, you know, we're gonna compete a little bit. Coach vibes. I love it.

SPEAKER_00 4:10

Yes. So it's challenging because I like to be the underdog. A lot of people don't want to deal with kids uh they got behind, they overage, nobody really wants to deal with them. But the Soar Academy is not a behavior problem program, it's not a discipline program. It's giving kids that ability and opportunity to get caught up with their cohorts.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

So when you say overage freshman, can you explain what that means? Because prior to learning about this program, I had never even heard of that.

SPEAKER_00 4:43

Okay, so if I had a freshman come in this year and his cohort was supposed to graduate the 26.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 4:52

Right now, he's not a 26. So I'm gonna get him uh based on the classes that we give them, we get them caught up. We accelerate them. So they're not on a traditional 24 credit plan, they're on an 18 credit plan. So we can hurry up and not just hurry up, but they're at risk. And there's a reason. And all of them we don't know. We don't know, but we're here to help. So we figure out what the problems are, how this is gonna work, find them a foundation. We gotta build a foundation for anything and have a structure. You know, a lot of times we tell people you gotta get back on track. Well, some of our kids never had a track. So how can we tell them to get back on track if you never had a track? If you never had a strong foundation or structure or discipline in your life, how could you get back on track? So my goal is to develop a track, give you some guidance on how to get from point A to point B. And once they get it, it's no stopping them. It's no stopping them.

SPEAKER_01 6:01

So some of the kids that are in the SOAR program, does that mean that they were maybe held back in say middle school or seventh or eighth grade? And so when they come in as ninth graders, the average ninth grader is what, 14?

SPEAKER_00 6:18

14.

SPEAKER_01 6:18

So they might be 15, 16, 17. So age-wise, they're older, but grade-wise, they are at that ninth grade level. Okay, so your job in SOR is to consolidate those two, get them a little bit closer to each other.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

To get them caught up with their core hearts. So through this program, we have what we call at Pine Forest Eagle Beyond the Bill. That's a recovery courses for students that may need to recover credits. So they use the ingenuity, and that's what we use in the SOAR Academy.

SPEAKER_01 6:52

So it's very precise to like meeting the needs as we see the need. Okay, we have this new need that popped up. We're gonna create a new way to meet the need. Is that right?

SPEAKER_00 7:02

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 7:02

So it's not like prescriptive, like, okay, here's the program, it's cookie cutter, it's not cookie cutter. So, what does it look like for a daily schedule for a student because it isn't a curriculum, standalone curriculum, and because it isn't an IEP, it's not a disciplinary protocol. Student comes to school at the regular time, then what?

SPEAKER_00 7:25

So they have schedules. Let's set schedules. Originally the first year, they were in the class all day with me, and they rotated out maybe twice to electives. Now it depends on what day and what class they have. So if they answer today, say we an even day, so we got classes two, four, six, and seven. So I may have five kids second period, fourth period I may have ten. So it depends on what they schedule. In your complex, yes.

SPEAKER_01 8:02

Okay. When the kids are in your classroom, are you just going over like their individual homework that they're struggling with? What does that look like?

SPEAKER_00 8:11

No, they are actually working online classes, and I'm monitoring them, I reset, I unlock activities. If they have problems struggling, we get them help or we uh provide them assistance to move on on that subject or to get so they can continue progress in uh whatever subject they're on.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

So are students self-selecting for SOAR or are they matched to this program through the administration?

SPEAKER_00 8:42

It's through uh administration, guidance, and myself. We all work as a team. So, like this year, before we started, we looked at all the kids. We go we first start with the age, incoming ninth graders, and we'll look at the age. So if we have somebody that's 16 years old, all right, we'll go do the research and what's the problem, or do they have problems discipline-wise? Because if you have a problem discipline-wise, I don't want a classroom full of discipline or behavior problem kids, which I can handle, but that's not what I want.

SPEAKER_01 9:21

Right. So Because you're not just trying to manage, you're trying to move these kids forward.

SPEAKER_00 9:26

Yes. So we'll look at the age and then we'll determine, and then we'll give them the option, talk to the parents and say, hey, we got this program, and we want to thank your kid to be a great candidate for this kid. Most of the time the parents agree. So we'll put them in the program. And my group from last year, that was that group right there was on fire.

SPEAKER_01 9:48

What do you mean?

SPEAKER_00 9:49

That group I had last year because the first year, like say, we were piloting and learning the do's and the don'ts. We allowed them certain classes at a certain amount of time, and then we could find out that we could give them more because they're at-risk students. So we give them more classes. And just like I said, we're giving it a foundation and giving them a track. So when I explained the 18 credit plan to them, and this is how many classes you gotta have to graduate. And if you complete this many classes, you'll be a tenth grader. If you complete this many classes, you'll be an 11th grade. I had a student that's a senior this year and will graduate this year.

SPEAKER_01 10:31

Really?

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

Wow. They just need that game plan.

SPEAKER_00 10:35

They needed a plan. And I mean, it's just like they come in, they get focused, and they get locked in. And sometimes, you know, they get sidetracked, but I have to guide them back on. And they get going, but the group I had last year was an exceptional group.

SPEAKER_01 10:51

Wow. Can you imagine what that's gonna be like 10 years from now? You're gonna run into one of them at a grocery store. You're just gonna be a puddle. You're just gonna be a mess.

SPEAKER_00 10:59

Yeah, well, I'm gonna be a mess at graduation this year.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

Oh man. I know that some of the program helps students graduate early. Cause like you said, that's the difference between the 18 and the what was it?

SPEAKER_00 11:13

24 credit.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

24. So because when you first told me that, I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, why are we lowering the bar? But it's not. Students who are advanced who opt to graduate early, they are only graduating with 18 credits. I feel like this is stuff like I didn't know. I didn't know about the difference of credits and the requirements. But the question I have is wouldn't it feel like whiplash for a student to go from being held back to rocketing ahead to graduating early?

SPEAKER_00 11:44

Well, a lot of them want to graduate early. They want out of there. School is just not for everybody. Yeah. And they want to get going and get in careers and get jobs. So they are excited about graduating. You know, the early grads, especially with college athletes now, the high schoolers that's going to scholarships, they early grad, they graduated in December. They on campus in January.

SPEAKER_01 12:08

I didn't know that.

SPEAKER_00 12:09

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 12:10

Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 12:10

Most football players are. That's why we have a signing period now in December. We just had a football signing. So those guys that signed in December, most of them are early grads and they go in campus on January.

SPEAKER_01 12:24

Yeah, I did not realize that. Isn't that interesting? We totally have this traditional in the box idea of what a successful high school student looks like. But I feel like you are really working outside that box. Like for you, there is no box.

SPEAKER_00 12:41

No, there's no box. It's box. It's the end goal is for them to graduate. And that's what I want for any student. And that's our goal at Pine Forest and the surrounding areas, is the most educated. So you want your kids to graduate.

SPEAKER_01 12:58

Yeah, be a successful adult. It has some similarities to me to the Success Academy at George Stone. Do you guys collaborate with them at all?

SPEAKER_00 13:06

Well, Success runs this program as annuity as well. But George Stone, I take a trip over to George Stone, part of my career options to show them the different careers and the type of money they can make if they go over here and get a trade versus going to college. Because everybody's not going to college. But you can go get a trade and make the same type of money and make good money. And then they go over there and they hear the numbers about jobs and they see the different opportunities that they can have. And so we can actually be dual enrolled going to Pine Forest and then go next door to go to George Storm and work on the trade. And if you hit it at the right time, you can complete high school with a trade or a certificate and be in a workforce. I also work with Block by Block, which is another program through the county that they get kids and they bring them in and they start them as an apprenticeship program. They learn it and then they have a job with the companies. I take kids on field trips to job sites, construction sites. Right now I got former alumni, which was my teammates in high school that own trucking companies. I have a lot of kids that want to get their CDLs now. So I'm bringing them in to talk about trucking and the benefits of having a CDL. So all the trades and the jobs that they talk about, we sit around in our peer counseling group, and um I ask them, what you want to do? How you gonna get there? And most of them can't tell me. So okay, let me help you get there. Let me show you the way.

SPEAKER_01 14:48

Peer counseling group. What do you mean?

SPEAKER_00 14:51

Well, I have a peer counseling class where I talk to all the kids and you know, appear I counsel them on different things that may have problems with, you know, or we just sit around and talk. Mostly I have males.

SPEAKER_01 15:05

You have meals. You have food.

SPEAKER_00 15:07

I have females too, but mostly.

SPEAKER_01 15:08

Oh, males. I thought you said meals. I was like, okay, so we bribe them with food. Uh I mean that works for me. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 15:14

You know, male students in my peer counseling, and we'll sit around and talk about life, and I give them guidance. They ask me questions, and I always have to be the devil. Like, how are you gonna do that? And then get them to think. Let's start thinking, let's come up with a plan.

SPEAKER_01 15:33

You know what's so interesting about this is I think the average person who would see one of these students, at least on paper, and see, okay, Johnny is entering the ninth grade and he is 17. Okay, we are just gonna lower all the bars for him and shoo him out the door. Do you know what I mean? So he's not our problem anymore. I mean, this is me putting on the most skeptical of lenses. But why I think this is interesting is because the truth of how you're describing it is it's the total opposite. It's like once these kids see past what is essentially the monotony of the class schedule in combination with whatever home situation they have, and then they can see, oh, I could get my CDL and I could be making this much money. I could have a career, I could learn something really cool and make something really cool. And they see like a future for themselves. It's almost like, I don't know, all systems go and then they can go forward, which is completely opposite, I think, of how most people would look on paper and see that kid and go, okay, you know what, we just need to give Johnny the easy stuff. But no, Johnny apparently just needs to see a future with himself in it.

SPEAKER_00 16:52

Johnny needs some self-confidence. Johnny needs some encouragement, Johnny needs some guidance. And once you get gotten Johnny motivated and some empowerment about itself, Johnny's gonna succeed. But Johnny just needs support from many resources and many people. And when you show them that you uh genuinely care and love them, they reciprocate that love back and they're willing to do anything for you.

SPEAKER_01 17:23

How do you help them get their dignity back? Because entering ninth grade and seeing the kids that you went to middle school with and elementary school with potentially in 11th and 12th, and it just the gut punch that would have on a student feels like it would be significant. How does that part grow back?

SPEAKER_00 17:45

Well, it grows back when completion of classes. When you complete, and like I said, I put out the plan and okay, if you finish this minor classes, you'll be in the tenth grade. You finish this, you'll be caught back up with your cohorts. And once they come out of there, they caught up with their cohorts and they back in regular classes with their cohorts. So they are totally different. Because if the sour is only for a year, it's your first year.

SPEAKER_01 18:15

Oh, okay. I mean It's only ninth grade.

SPEAKER_00 18:18

For ninth graders, and then some that slid to the crack that we find and we put them in sewer to get them caught up. But once they leave, they always want to come back. Every kid I had in the SOAR for the last two years, I tried and can I get back in sewer? Can I come back? I want to be back. Me and my assistant, they love us. They get in trouble to skip class to come and see and speak to us, to be late to class. And it's a great program, and we're gonna have a lot of success out from it, and we just want to continue to build it and provide these services for our kids to graduate.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

What do you think the secret sauce is?

SPEAKER_00 18:58

The secret sauce is I just think we care.

SPEAKER_01 19:01

I think so too.

SPEAKER_00 19:02

I think it's the care and the love. And a firefighter for 20 years, I've been helping people. That's all I want to do is help people.

SPEAKER_01 19:11

I can feel it just when I'm sitting with you, which always makes me tear up, sir. And I'm fully blaming you for that.

SPEAKER_00 19:17

We're not doing that today.

SPEAKER_01 19:19

I don't know. You have in front of you a student essay that says very differently. Do you want to share a little bit from that as we wrap up?

SPEAKER_00 19:28

Well, this was a student that it was because it's these students, when I first started at Pine Far as I was in the ILR and I had several students that came in there and they were behind. They had all else.

SPEAKER_01 19:44

And ILR is in lieu of removal. Removal, okay.

SPEAKER_00 19:48

And they had 35 days or it was a good little while that they had to be in there with me, or they had to be in there a whole quarter. And I just told them, I like, yep, we still students. We're still students. We're not just gonna come in here and sit and be quiet all day. We're gonna work, we're gonna get caught up. We're not gonna let a bad decision stop us from meeting our goal of graduating. And they had F's. And there were some smart kids, smart students, smart students. And when I had a group of, it was about seven girls that were real good friends that got into a fight. But anyway.

SPEAKER_01 20:26

They were good friends, but they got into a fight?

SPEAKER_00 20:28

They fought some other people. Oh, okay, okay. They ended up in ILR, and um, I think I might have had 20 kids in that altogether that year at that time. So I started doing something different. I'm not just gonna punish you and take you out and do work detail, pick up paper, pick up trash. We're gonna get our work. So I started communicating with the teachers. Hey, I need assignments for this person, what this person needs. And I actually take them out one of the times that we did go, I take them out for a bathroom break. Okay, now you go get your work, you go get your work. And they go get the work, get it completed, return it in, and at the end of that nine weeks, they were honored students.

SPEAKER_01 21:13

From F to honor roll?

SPEAKER_00 21:15

Yes, ma'am.

SPEAKER_01 21:16

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 21:16

And that's when our principal at the time was Deborah. She said, I want to start another program, and I want you to be up. I didn't want to do it. I was I didn't want to, I was like, I'm good with ILR, you know. And she's like, No, I think you got it to motivate the kids. And one of those kids, they called themselves Oliver's Angels.

SPEAKER_01 21:38

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_00 21:39

Uh and she interviewed me for a journalism paper, and um, she talked about a lot of things, but the thing that I liked the most was her conclusion that she wrote, Coach Oliver has been a legend in disguise, giving back to the school, like the school gave to him. He is giving young men a Pine Forest High School a chance, and he's working pretty hard at it. He makes sure that no one is overlooked, and he makes sure that students who he makes contact with leaves with an impact. In fact, everyone needs someone like Coach Oliver on their side.

SPEAKER_01 22:14

I told you you did it. You made me tear up. Well, we appreciate you very much. And because this is how communities get changed is one student at a time, one caring adult at a time, one male role model at a time. So thank you for doing the work and thank you for sharing it.

SPEAKER_00 22:33

Thank you for having me, and once again, I appreciate you.

SPEAKER_01 22:37

Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe and share. Voices United in Education is a production of Escambie County Public Schools.