227 Academy Students Finding Success In District Charter School’s First Semester
Author: Linda Kent, MT43 News Staff Reporter
227 Academy Students Finding Success in District Charter School’s First Semester
Linda Kent
MT43 News Staff Reporter
Students at East Helena Public Schools’ 227 Academy, a public charter school operated and staffed by East Helena Schools, showed solid progress during the school’s first semester. 227’s 60 high school students earned 108-semester credits toward graduation in core subjects, as well as 68-semester credits online through Montana Digital Academy (MTDA) and Edgenuity.
“We have a few severely credit deficient students who are flying high, including one student who has completed 16 Semester Credits this Semester,” EHHS Principal Paul Condon wrote in his Feb. 10 report to the school board.
The academy was organized to provide middle and high school students who struggle in a traditional classroom setting or lack credits toward graduation to advance their education in a more flexible setting. The academy’s five core subjects teachers focus on project-based and competency-based learning models to help students meet their academic needs.
“Overall, it’s been pretty successful, despite some challenges,” Condon told the board.
In addition to students struggling academically, Condon said 227 Academy has also been utilized by high school students who want to work during the day and complete coursework at night online as well as some interested in early graduation.
EHHS Vice Principal Trish Klock said a lot of students have expressed interest in switching from the regular high school setting to 227 Academy.
“Do they perceive it as an easier path?” Board Chairman Scott Walters asked.
“We do have some that think it’s easier,” Conlon acknowledged. “And we have some pretty big conversations with the students and their parents.” Before enrolling, students sign a contract covering academic and behavioral expectations and can be returned to the traditional classroom for failing to meet their obligations. Conlon added that five students have been denied entrance to the academy and others have been moved back to the high school for breaking their contracts.
Conlon said the 227’s learning environment is very different from what one would expect from a traditional high school setting.
“It’s very quiet down there,” he told the board. While the independent study nature of the setting does allow for some flexibility for students coping with difficult personal situations, “the kids have to be working.”
Among the challenges, Conlon said, include tightening down when students can transfer between the high school and 227, and maintaining the Academy’s perception as an alternative, rather than lesser, way to complete school requirements.
“We don’t want it to be treated as a dumping ground,” he emphasized.
East Valley Middle School Principal Lynsi Morris said the middle school is challenged by having a single core subjects teacher having to manage four subjects for three separate grade levels.
In December, Superintendent Dan Rispens had also notified the board of a funding issue for 227 Academy’s 6th-8th grade programs, caused by the state’s formula for the charter categorizing sixth-grade students as elementary – rather than middle school – students. Rispen told the board on Feb. 10 that the district would have to return more than $100,000 to the state, student numbers at 227’s middle school in the 2025-26 school year should allow the district to meet requirements for full funding the following school year.
While 227 Academy is clearly meeting students’ educational needs, Board Member Tyrel Merritt asked Rispens if it was also impacting a reduction in the severity of middle and high school disciplinary actions.
“It’s reasonable to assume that it may have an impact on discipline and referrals as a spin-off side effect,” Rispens said. “At least some of the students in 227 are getting some positive adult attention and feeling successful at school.”
