Laura has a learning disability and severe anxiety, and when she first came to AFC at age 16, she was failing all of her classes. Though she is very bright and made steady progress in middle school, Laura’s large public high school was overwhelming and anxiety-provoking, and she began regularly skipping school. AFC worked with Laura’s mom to help find a new school placement that could provide the small, supportive environment she needed to get back on track.

With our assistance, Laura applied to and was accepted at City-As-School, an alternative school serving students who have struggled at traditional public high schools and are at risk of dropping out. At City-As-School, students receive extensive support for their social-emotional needs, participate in project-based learning, and are placed in internships to build practical and professional skills. Laura’s internship at a bakery during her first months at her new school helped her re-engage and invest in her education, and she has grown enormously both academically and emotionally ever since. In June 2015, Laura graduated with a Regents diploma, and her teachers said her graduation portfolio for math—which used to be one of her worst subjects—was the best they saw this year!