Success Stories > Westerville, OH

WESTERVILLE, Ohio. – Dr. Steve Coolahan meets with at-risk students every day who feel defeated and are ready to give up on earning their high school diplomas, but he knows there’s still hope for them.

Dr. Coolahan often sees students change their minds when they commit to his Educational Options for Success (EOS) alternative education program. He knows they can graduate. It’s just up to them to decide if they really want it. "I tell students if you’re willing to work, anything’s possible," says Dr. Coolahan, manager of the alternative high school program.

For ten years, EOS has helped dropouts, expellees, and students with poor attendance rates get back on track using EdOptions™ Stars Suite® courses as the high school’s primary curriculum. “The Stars Suite® library of 46 Web-based core and elective courses available anytime, from anywhere with an Internet connection, has been perfect for the needs of the students,” says Dr. Coolahan.

To date, 75 percent of students who had previously dropped out of school have graduated as a result of participating in the EOS program.

In the 2008-09 school year alone, the program achieved a 92 percent success rate of students meeting requirements set by the school: either graduating, earning the credits they needed to get back on track, or transitioning back into their traditional high school. Over the lifetime of the decade-old program, nearly 68 percent of students who were once ready to dropout have instead graduated.

Keeping parents informed and having students take responsibility for their own learning is integral to the success of EOS. “We’re working with adolescents and one of their major goals is control and power and we give it to them,” explains Dr. Coolahan. “Stars Suite® enables us to work with students on a daily and weekly basis to get them to establish their learning goals.”

Westerville City Schools
Alternative School Program Westerville, Ohio
150 students

For more info contact:
EdOptions
1-866-243-7460

Stars Suite® daily report cards help keep parents updated on student progress, and encourage the students as well. “When students are successful in school and they’re making progress, it feels rewarding to them and they begin thinking about the future, as opposed to feeling defeated that they can’t make it to graduation,” says Dr. Coolahan. Dr. Coolahan largely credits EdOptions’ Stars Suite® for the dramatic transformations he has seen in his students. “It’s been rewarding to see kids talking about their goals and getting excited about them once they’re back on track with school.”

Thanks to EOS and EdOptions, students who once thought they’d never graduate high school have found the hope and motivation toachieve their diplomas.