From Our Schools Archives

Now more than ever, school leaders are acutely aware of the mental health challenges facing students and their families, teachers and administrators, and themselves.

Here’s just one stat from Mental Health in Schools | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness: “One in six U.S. youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year, and half of all mental health conditions begin by age 14. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), behavior problems, anxiety, and depression are the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders in children. Yet, about half of youth with mental health conditions received any kind of treatment in the past year.”

It is particularly important to acknowledge the pandemic’s impact on mental health at home and in the community, and to present an opportunity for meaningful conversations about mental health in both, to learn how we may better understand and support those around us.

Mental Health and Leadership Webinar

Amid what is being called a mental health crisis in schools, watch on-demand webinar Mental Health and Leadership – Grow Schools with Caroline Poland, MA, LMHC, LCAC, CCTP, CCFP, NCC.

You can download the Presentation Handout here and the Presentation Slides here.

Contact Caroline Poland at caroline@polandandassociates.com or learn more from her website www.polandandassociates.com & Youtube channel “Poland and Associates Consulting”.

Support Mental Health and Well-being Guide

Mental Health And Well Being For Charter Schools 3

This guide shares the expertise of Caroline Poland, Founder and CEO of Poland and Associates Consulting, MA, LMHC, LCAC, CCTP, CCFP, NCC, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. Learn how to build a firm foundation of mental health and well-being in the classroom and make an Emotional Regulation Plan.

Download Free

6 Steps for Creating Safe School Spaces for LGBTQIA+ Students

The Need for Safe Spaces For LGBTQIA+ Students The numbers say it all: students who identify as LGBTQIA+ are twice as likely to experience harassment, such as name-calling and verbal and physical abuse than their non-LGBTQIA+ classmates, and according to Mental Health America, they are four times more likely to take their own lives. LGBTQIA+ […]

Mental Health and Well-being Resources for School Leaders

Leadership comes with its unique set of challenges, and prioritizing mental health is a cornerstone of effective management. Explore a diverse range of resources offered to foster resilience, stress management, and thoughtful decision-making at your school. Mental Health Resources

We’re proud of the schools we serve. Each one of these schools has a unique mission, and each serves a unique group of students. These schools are led by idealists, dreamers, compassionate optimists who not only believe in a better tomorrow, they believe in rolling up their sleeves and bringing that better tomorrow to their students. It is a privilege for us here at Charter School Capital to support these schools and help them thrive.

Here is a blog post from Almond Acres Charter Academy, of San Miguel, California.

At Almond Acres, we grow great kids. Our new school in Paso Robles is going to be a beautiful expression of our teaching and educational philosophy in 4D. We are taking our educational philosophy and bringing it to life in our school building.

How do we do this? With intention! And planning. It is our philosophy to facility. We will educate the whole child here — heart, mind, body and soul — to the eight types of intelligence. Let’s visit the plans together.

Our focus is to create spaces that are dynamic — where collaboration can readily appear. This collaboration could be between teachers, students, and staff and will stimulate our project-based learning, while keeping every child safe within a self-contained campus.

An interior classroom wall can open so two classes can join together. Teachers can co-teach students allowing them to augment and supplement their lessons with one another — and share ideas, talents and expertise. After all, the eight intelligences apply to our teachers just as it does to every AACA student.

Distance learning has taught us how well our teachers collaborate and share expertise. We carry this idea forward by having grades adjoining one another so K-1 can collaborate, 2-3, 4-5, and middle school. We are shifting the siloed teacher/classroom paradigm into a malleable, flexible and collegial experience for all educators alongside our paradigm shift for their students.

Studies show academic achievement thrives best when teachers collaborate. Our new adjoining classroom ideas not only allow teachers and classes to adjoin, we also have small group meeting rooms and shared teacher offices. Up to four teachers will share an office and our small group meeting rooms will allow specialists to push into the classroom more easily and kids to spend less time away from their core class environment and eliminate any stigma they may feel leaving their class.

Our internal courtyard will be open to the sky overhead. We will have fountains and natural elements; it will be an inviting and peaceful welcoming. Our eighth graders are creating monuments to all eight intelligences. They could be sculptures, poems, rock carvings — we cannot wait to see what they design!

Our multipurpose room will serve many needs including a gymnasium for athletics.. It also has an internal collapsible wall that can fold up and allow both spaces (the gym and central courtyard) to hold 500-800 people. By having the gym inside the core of the school building we keep all children safe. There is a hallway surrounding the gym and atrium to buffer sound.

Our Kindergarten and first grade classes are at the north end of the building and have slightly larger classrooms. Our second and third grades and fourth and fifth grades will be side-by-side with the collapsible wall in-between to integrate subject areas and share teacher expertise and passions.

Our middle school will have two wings at the front of our new school. These two areas will be academies that focus on humanities classes like language arts and social sciences. We will have a learning space here that mimics a college library. The other middle school wing will have STEM and STEAM classes — including a creativity lab. This project-based learning lab will be used for science and art classes.

Outside, our playground is lower to ease some elevation changes. This creates a natural amphitheater. The fields are completely ADA compatible with access on all sides. Our classroom doors to the outside do not have door handles on the exterior; our students, stuff and teachers re-enter through main access doors. The entire school is circled by a drop off lane for easy pickup and drop off. Our video below explains every aspect of our design.

At Almond Acres Charter Academy teaching, supporting and stretching the whole child is always top of mind. With our new school facility in Paso Robles, we will bolster student retention while encouraging creativity. We can improve neurological strength in our soon-to-be engaging, dynamic and flexible school spaces. We encourage collaboration for teachers and students alike…and soon our school will enable this even further. This is how we grow great kids. We cannot wait to share this new school with YOU!

About Almond Acres

Almond Acres is moving to Paso Robles. Almond Acres Charter Academy is a public, tuition-free K-8 school that employs credentialed teachers and administers state-mandated testing to provide families in northern SLO County an additional choice in public education. Open to all students in all communities, the school is currently located in San Miguel and moving to Paso Robles for the 2021-22 school year. AACA’s mission is to help students succeed academically and socially by educating the whole child: heart, mind, body and soul. We grow great kids!

We’re proud of the schools we serve. Each one of these schools has a unique mission, and each serves a unique group of students. These schools are led by idealists, dreamers, compassionate optimists who not only believe in a better tomorrow, they believe in rolling up their sleeves and bringing that better tomorrow to their students. It is a privilege for us here at Charter School Capital to support these schools and help them thrive.

Here is a blog post from Vanguard Collegiate of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Why is Play Important?

At Catalyst, play time is very important to us. We ensure our scholars get PE four days a week! Plus plenty of recess time and movement brain breaks. Why?

We’re very glad you asked.

Play creates a sense of adventure and nurtures imagination. Through play, children of all ages, learn valuable skills like working with others, sharing, problem-solving and more. In turn, play can also help our scholars develop their ability to concentrate.

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”

— FRED ROGERS

It’s easy to dismiss the importance of play. We grown-ups sometimes underestimate the significance of play for children. But in actuality, play is hugely profound for growth, critical to creativity, and builds foundational skills that support a lifetime of learning.

And who better to weigh in on the importance of play for our Catalyst Academy scholars, than Morgan Lovely, our founding PE Teacher. Here’s some insight from Morgan:

“As we navigate through these unique and unprecedented times, my intention as an educator of wellness is to not just teach motor, body and mind care skills, but to also equip our students with resilience, growth mindsets and perseverance skills to overcome any obstacle in their path.

I am a Physical Education teacher because I love to motivate and challenge my students through experiential learning, movement and life skills; to inspire a love of lifetime physical activity and self-care. The best part about teaching early elementary students is the contagious exhilaration and curiosity that younger students share to learn new things and make connections to their world.”

And while we recognize that play is hugely important to brain development, we also like to celebrate our scholars efforts as they learn different ways to move their bodies. In their Physical Education classes, scholars earned their Locomotor Licenses for their mastery of specific locomotive movements.

At Catalyst, we believe play is a critical part of a well-rounded curriculum. Through play, our scholars build socially-resilient, cognitively-flexible brains. Hooray for play!

About Catalyst

Catalyst Academy Charter School’s mission is to prepare all students for college, career, and life. Catalyst Academy Charter School’s core values of Belong. Grow. Achieve. reflect the school’s deep commitment to cultivating an inclusive supportive school community where everyone – children and adults – is focused on learning every day, in order for all students to define and achieve their dreams. Catalyst Academy Charter School’s education model is designed to close both the achievement and opportunity gap. The approach couples rigorous core academics with a broad offering in the arts and sciences. Students will experience STEM learning daily and arts programming four days per week. Enroll your Kinder, first or second grader today!

We’re proud of the schools we serve. Each one of these schools has a unique mission, and each serves a unique group of students. These schools are led by idealists, dreamers, compassionate optimists who not only believe in a better tomorrow, they believe in rolling up their sleeves and bringing that better tomorrow to their students. It is a privilege for us here at Charter School Capital to support these schools and help them thrive.

Here is a blog post from Catalyst Academy, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Why is Play Important?

At Catalyst, play time is very important to us. We ensure our scholars get PE four days a week! Plus plenty of recess time and movement brain breaks. Why?

We’re very glad you asked.

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”

— FRED ROGERS

And who better to weigh in on the importance of play for our Catalyst Academy scholars, than Morgan Lovely, our founding PE Teacher. Here’s some insight from Morgan:

“As we navigate through these unique and unprecedented times, my intention as an educator of wellness is to not just teach motor, body and mind care skills, but to also equip our students with resilience, growth mindsets and perseverance skills to overcome any obstacle in their path.

I am a Physical Education teacher because I love to motivate and challenge my students through experiential learning, movement and life skills; to inspire a love of lifetime physical activity and self-care. The best part about teaching early elementary students is the contagious exhilaration and curiosity that younger students share to learn new things and make connections to their world.”

At Catalyst, we believe play is a critical part of a well-rounded curriculum. Through play, our scholars build socially-resilient, cognitively-flexible brains. Hooray for play!

About Catalyst

We’re proud of the schools we serve. Each one of these schools has a unique mission, and each serves a unique group of students. These schools are led by idealists, dreamers, compassionate optimists who not only believe in a better tomorrow, they believe in rolling up their sleeves and bringing that better tomorrow to their students. It is a privilege for us here at Charter School Capital to support these schools and help them thrive.

Here is a blog post from Gateway College & Career Academy, in Riverside, California.

High school is a time of lengthy projects, multi-step tasks and lots of planning to get it all done on time. How can you possibly figure out what to tackle on a daily basis given how many things are due?

It starts small. Breaking down the larger tasks into small, doable chunks. In order to do that…we recommend starting at step one.

Begin with the end…in mind.

When you understand what it is you’re assigned to do — you can create a plan — and get it done. If you don’t understand the assignment — find that classroom teacher or teacher aides and get more detail. Then head to step 1 below.

Big picture time — what is this task/project/assignment supposed to be What is the end result???
It’s not Magic — devise a step-by-step plan. It’s not as daunting as you might think when you weed out what it takes to get it done.
Follow the Roadmap — what needs to happen first, second, third…
Deadline Approaching — any task is easier when you know it’s got a hard stop. Make a timeline that’s doable for you.
See it Through — set aside time for this project. Include it in your iCalendar, write down what you need to do on a calendar or your notes for the day ahead, schedule the time as part of your day — be specific! And stay on task.
Final Review — be sure to give yourself time to check your work.
Celebrate and Reflect — smile as you successfully saw your plan through from start to finish! Congratulate yourself. Reflect on what you learned in the process and be ready to apply it to the next task you will conquer!

Gateway College and Career Academy graduate in cap and gown with friends holding sign

Staying organized and tackling big projects is one way to show the world you’re ready for that high school diploma AND college credits. We have so much confidence in your abilities. You belong here! If you need anything from us, your Gateway support system, you know where to find us. Let’s talk it over, together!

About Gateway

Gateway College and Career Academy (formerly Gateway to College) is an early college public high school launched in 2004, as an answer to the growing number of students who were disconnected from their education and not on track to obtain their high school diplomas. Our highly qualified teaching and counseling staff supports and guides our students on their educational pathways, establishing a bond of trust and the motivation to make it to the finish line.

Riverside City College is an ideal partner, helping our students transition to college education via concurrent enrollment in GCCA and RCC, and giving access to all of the college’s resources and supports. You belong here!

We’re proud of the schools we serve. Each one of these schools has a unique mission, and each serves a unique group of students. These schools are led by idealists, dreamers, compassionate optimists who not only believe in a better tomorrow, they believe in rolling up their sleeves and bringing that better tomorrow to their students. It is a privilege for us here at Charter School Capital to support these schools and help them thrive.

Here is a blog post from SET (School for Entrepreneurship & Technology), a charter school in San Diego, California.

With flexible schedules, a wide array of electives, and dual enrollment with Mesa College, our SET High students enable promising futures as they influence what, when and how they learn. Our Honors courses probe mighty depths, while our small classes and Passion Projects keep our students engaged at a level seldom seen for grades 9-12. It’s no small feat; but also one we enjoy and invest in very seriously. We ignite — or reignite — each student’s love for learning. It’s a deliberate and intentional process.

Students often come to SET High enticed by our small public school environment. No one gets lost or ignored and every individual is recognized for who they are as well as where they are on their life journey.

“SET High has been one of the most important assets to my education, as my previous schools never attained the level of kindness, help, and understanding that SET High has.”

— Former SET student

Teachers are highly involved and invested in every SET student’s success. Our teachers actively guide and inspire each unique individual alongside our collective faculty POV that learning and long term retention happen when there’s passion.

Passion is the fuel that ignites learning and discovery. This passion could be for a particular subject, a cause, or an expression of art. Passion Projects is the SET program that recognizes the power of helping students discover their gifts, their passion. Our teachers lead each student to higher personal academic achievement, and ultimately, our school sees higher overall attendance rates..

SET High students stay engaged through graduation. Our phenomenal attendance and graduation rates speak volumes as to how our students are literally showing up each day. Passion Projects inspire our high school students to create and learn beyond “normal” school curriculum. Passion Projects also ignite students’ self-confidence and interpersonal skills to become the next generation of business and social leaders.

“I think SET is an amazing school because I’m given an opportunity to do other projects besides math and English…We have full range to do whatever we’re passionate about.”

— Former SET High Student

At SET, we ensure that ALL students thrive in a safe and effective learning environment. We do not tolerate bullying, and students and faculty at SET High practice full acceptance. Not tolerance; acceptance. We heartily participate in and savor our inclusive and accepting learning environment including our student-led, self-organized clubs. These clubs are created to support all walks of life such as LGBTQIA+, peer tutoring/peer buddy system, and military meetup for children of parents in the military.

Another role our teachers tackle is as advisor. With our SET High advisory programs, each advisory teacher advocates, promotes, assists and reinforces a student’s personalized path within a 1:1 rapport. Designed to work like families, each individual student’s academic, personal and leadership growth blossoms. Our students are safe, comfortable, and familiar with our school’s flexible and nimble learning environment and we’ve seen test scores heartily increase while truancy rates plummet.

“This school develops strong character in its students, like integrity, compassion, and respect. The school is big on reinforcing the concept of doing things the right way and making good decisions in life.”

— SET Parent

Our Passion Project program, launched in the fall of 2016, captivates students as they discover their passion. It could be an academic subject, a much loved hobby, a dream for a business, an expression of talent or the drive to answer the question, “what if…”.

Passion Projects are an outgrowth of our school’s dynamic entrepreneurial mindset. Our 9th-12th graders collaborate to create works of art, start a business or investigate a problem.
All students — from incoming freshmen, to newly transferred juniors, to graduating seniors — are invited to ponder what they are passionate for, to set up a project to tap into and ignite those dreams and to share it with their SET peers and community.

“I’ve had so many opportunities here that I would have never had at other schools. They’re going to find your skills and they’re going to grow them. “

— Former SET student

We are rooted in the belief that students who are passionate about what they are learning, don’t just survive their high school years, they thrive. We see our SET High students not only go above and beyond the minimum requirements at our school. We see deeper engagement in all academic classes and scholastic pursuits, even those they once found less appealing.

SET High is a game-changing high school experience. We ignite passions, love of learning and an appreciation for how invested teachers matter. Our 9th-12th grade students discover, express and achieve success via passions for business, science, technology and the arts. Ignite or re-ignite a love for learning, today! Enroll with SET.

About SET High School

SET High offers each student individual attention from multi-talented, highly-qualified teachers, a healthy camaraderie with classmates and an intellectually rigorous environment that brings out their talents and personality. With a wide variety of electives, flexible scheduling, dual enrollment college classes and more — our students regularly exceed their academic and personal expectations. Enrolling now!

We’re proud of the schools we serve. Each one of these schools has a unique mission, and each serves a unique group of students. These schools are led by idealists, dreamers, compassionate optimists who not only believe in a better tomorrow, they believe in rolling up their sleeves and bringing that better tomorrow to their students. It is a privilege for us here at Charter School Capital to support these schools and help them thrive.

Here is a blog post from Edge High School, Tuscon, Arizona.

At Edge, students, staff and families listen to each other. Our open door, “no conversation is too hard” approach informs everything we do. We want to know when things are challenging and we want to share the joy in every accomplishment, even those that might feel small.

Respect and fairness are cornerstones at our alternative high school. We take a service-based approach towards every member of our Edge community and we make every effort to collaborate on what’s the next right thing. We have a zero tolerance for shaming of any kind and our teachers and staff embrace their opportunity to know every student as an individual and to support their academic dreams.

Listening, respect and fairness inform how and why we were created, as a school, way back in ’85. It’s also how we continue as a safe school. These aren’t buzzwords for us. We’re playing the long game for and with every student who joins our school. And their families.

In our recent survey of Edge families, we learned:

100% of parents know who to contact with questions or concerns

This matters to us on a deep level. It means that not only are we reaching our students — so they know who to call, email or meet online 1:1 with when they need us. Their caregivers, support people, parents and extended family know how to find us as well.

Image by Creatista

We are nothing without our students. 100% true. Our best efforts to support our high schoolers means we also support and honor the people who love them at home and in their community. That’s why we embrace the feedback that these support people know who to contact with questions or concerns.

We also know that sometimes we don’t know. And when in that scenario — we call in the experts. When it comes to supporting the health and well-being of all of our Edge family,

Edge is partnering with Jorgensen Brooks. The employee and student assistance programs provide access to free counseling services and other resources.

At Edge high school we value mutual respect and inclusivity. Our entire approach to high school and our time together revolves around equality and equity for all. We continually and enthusiastically strive together towards the same shared goal – to help our students achieve academic dreams and high school graduation.

We are in this together, no matter the credit discrepancies, unique learning needs or other barriers to success. You know where and how to find us if you need us!

And remember we are enrolling. If you know anybody who needs a different high school experience… send them our way. Enrolling now — and year-round.

About Edge

EDGE is a Cognia accredited, tuition-free, charter high school, with two campuses in the greater Tucson area. We provide an alternative to traditional education, meeting the diverse learning and life needs of our students with our blended curriculum and flexible morning or afternoon class schedules. Our high-quality, passionate teachers are dedicated to individualized instruction in our small academic classes. Be you. With us. At EDGE!

We’re proud of the schools we serve. Each one of these schools has a unique mission, and each serves a unique group of students. These schools are led by idealists, dreamers, compassionate optimists who not only believe in a better tomorrow, they believe in rolling up their sleeves and bringing that better tomorrow to their students. It is a privilege for us here at Charter School Capital to support these schools and help them thrive.

Here is a blog post from Almond Acres Academy, of San Miguel, California.

Bob Bourgault, Executive Director, at Almond Acres Charter Academy has invented a philosophical approach to raise the level of consciousness of self (and others) as we all journey on the quest to becoming the best version of ourselves. His model, used in all grades in AACA, is aimed at kids and for use in classroom and childhood environments, but also has specifics for teens and adults, and has been presented to businesses and organizations, too.

The model is represented visually as a kite — with four quadrants and four colors, each representing a different aspect of our intelligence, temperament, personality, and learning modalities. We are all a combination of learner and one who is learning.

Bob believes every one of us is smart, beautiful, spiritual and talented. And this kite model helps us understand our unique abilities, learning styles, and existence — even further.

What is a kite?

It is a simple system for children to categorize their innate disposition using colors, visuals, and words to help students recognize what kind of learner they are, and how they can use their unique set of intelligence to influence the world. While there are many personality tests for adults, such as Meyers Briggs or Enneagram, Bob’s system is unique because it is designed specifically for children, and adapted for teens and adults.

What are my strengths and struggles?

Every school year each K-8 student at Almond Acres creates their kite: a visual representation of their individual strengths and struggles in heart, mind, body, and soul. These four unique sets of intelligence are represented by four quadrants and with four colors on each individual’s kite — red, blue, green and yellow.

The question a child typically asks first is drawn from his/her personal temperament. There is a desire to seek answers that satisfy our inner curiosity. For example, a child with a strong blue kite has a dominant interpersonal intelligence and will likely be drawn to the ‘who’ question. A green kite thinks more intra-personally and asks why. The red thinker wants to know where and how because he/she is more hands-on and visually smart. The yellow kite considers the logistics of a question and asks what and when. If we follow the natural questioning path that a child travels, we are likely to lead him/her straight to the correct answers.

It’s the difference between being given a toy car and given a model to build a toy car. And with this visual model — students can realize how smart they are because they understand HOW they are smart. It’s a paradigm shift. Students also create a class kite — to represent their group dynamic — and every AACA teacher shares their individual kite with the class as well.

Asking questions like who, why, what and when or where and how helps to define an approach to thinking, creating and learning. Each of these questions represents two of the eight types of intelligence and the whole person:

Body: kinesthetic and visual/spatial
Mind: linguistic and logical
Soul: musical and intrapersonal
Heart: interpersonal and naturalist

“Our son has learned so much about his personal learning style and what makes him a unique learner and he can communicate that to EVERYONE at AACA because every year every student creates their kite: a visual representation of their individual strengths and weaknesses in heart, mind, body, and soul.”

At Almond Acres the kite is used in many ways including the school logo, uniform colors and on lunch tables. Kite cards, as they’re called, are round – to symbolize the whole person. AACA also believes we are all a whole person first. Once we affirm how everyone is strong — then every student and staffer can be stretched, and then celebrated as they grow, learn and fly!

About AACA

We’re proud of the schools we serve. Each one of these schools has a unique mission, and each serves a unique group of students. These schools are led by idealists, dreamers, compassionate optimists who not only believe in a better tomorrow, they believe in rolling up their sleeves and bringing that better tomorrow to their students. It is a privilege for us here at Charter School Capital to support these schools and help them thrive.

Here is a blog post from Vanguard Collegiate of Indianapolis.

Recently, Vanguard Collegiate of Indianapolis lost a beloved member of our charter school. We are heartbroken. As we process our grief, we are reminded why we are a school community to begin with; we are here to be of service. We founded this school to instill strong academic pride in fifth to eighth graders — alongside deep character foundations and meaningful ethics. We are fully aware that our middle schoolers face challenges daily and have suffered terrible losses in their short lives. We are here to be of purposeful support for our scholars and families.

Middle school is stressful. In the best of times, the growth arc from fifth to eighth grade includes a rollercoaster of new hormones, more complex emotions, peer pressure and a heightened awareness of society and the world we inhabit. Right now, today, is not even close to the best of times. Every Vanguard student is managing incredible emotions due to the ongoing pandemic and the increase in violence to Black and Latinx communities. Feelings of isolation and fear are constant. How can we help?

Social-Emotional Learning at Vanguard Collegiate

We include social-emotional learning (SEL) in our school days together to help every scholar understand and contextualize their feelings and experiences, and to carve out space to process what is happening in their lives and in their bodies. We also offer SEL as a way to stay connected to each other, to better comprehend the importance of our school as a place of comfort and guidance — and to share our distress and our struggles, whenever needed.

Physical changes can happen hard and fast in middle school. We see our fifth to eighth-grade scholars growing rapidly, and having huge appetites. Our scholars need more sleep. Some scholars are suddenly faster runners, but less agile. It’s all part of the middle school growth process, but it can feel strange.

So, too, are the mental health challenges of middle school. Feelings and emotions change fast, feel more intense, or can be hard to let go. Recognizing and maintaining personal values can be harder than it used to be. Questioning authority and pushing back against boundaries is a new thing. Introspection, mood swings and a need for privacy might spring up seemingly overnight. We want to help our families, our community, and every middle schooler as an individual. Vanguard is here to be of service.

How to help

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental, emotional or social health, here is how we help:

Our School Counselor Marcia Lomax can be contacted anytime via email: marcia_durham@hotmail.com
National Suicide Support Hotline: 800-273-8255
Text IN To 741741 For Suicide Prevention

We are the only standalone middle school in the Near Westside and we are proud to serve this community. We reflect the diversity of our surrounding neighborhood and our teachers and staff look like the community we serve. We pledge to maintain our SEL efforts, to support every unique Vanguard scholar and family, to grow and serve together as a purposeful educational staff, and to embrace our broad and beloved 46222 community. This is the Vanguard way.

About Vanguard

Vanguard Collegiate of Indianapolis is unapologetically focused on the academic success of our scholars, our fifth to eighth-grade students. Situated in Central Indianapolis, we provide high-quality instruction, rigorous curriculum, and supportive character development. We create pathways to college success and to becoming leaders in thought, word, and action. Be a Vanguard, today!