First day at Burchell has different feel

With more than 260 students this year and about 75 on the waiting list, Burchell is beginning to attract students who are dissatisfied with the larger public schools and feel they could succeed in an alternative high school setting.

"A lot of students are drawn to the smaller class sizes and more teacher contact," Warren said in a phone interview. "But we encourage students who are succeeding at the large public schools to stay there. Burchell and the other alternative high schools are for kids who haven't been as successful as they want to be and can be, and the students we take in are those likely to have a marked increase in their success once at Burchell."

Warren said Burchell students are a diverse group with all different situations and needs.

Some are teen parents, who can leave their children at the school's licensed day care center while at class and also take teen-parenting classes. Some have full-time jobs and need to take classes at night. Some have domestic or economic situations that make attending a larger public school difficult.

"There are layers of diversity here," Warren said. "Whether economic, domestic, ethnic or otherwise, everyone here has a story. It's a real cross-section."

As students arrived at Burchell Tuesday morning, they gathered in the large commons to meet with their advisors, reunite with friends, and collectively affirm why they were there.

There was an air of community among the students and teachers gathered at round tables in advisory groups that morning.

After going over administrative details, teachers and students chatted about their summers -- what concerts they had been to, what new hair color they were sporting this month, who the new students were. The place buzzed.

But when it was time to get down to business the room got quiet, almost serious. Speaking to the assembled students, vice principal Scott Warren was upfront and direct in his welcome.

"You all remember that interview you did with us when you applied to this school," Warren said. "You chose to come here, and we chose to have you here. So we're in this together."

Warren welcomed the new students at Burchell and told them they had come to an exciting but oftentimes difficult school where the standard of behavior and respect for rules was high, perhaps higher than some of them were accustomed to.

"We maintain a culture of respect here," Warren said. "You're here to take care of business and to make a change in your life for the better."

Warren introduced the new acting vice principal, Paul Cossette, to the student body and told them he was there to help, that he was part of the growth and change the school had been going through and would continue to go through.

Then Warren said he wanted the veterans, the students that had been at Burchell a few years, to help new students understand what the school is all about, what their values and goals are.

He asked if a veteran student would get up and explain the school's policy on fighting. A young man in a crooked baseball cap and sunglasses stood up. Warren handed the mike to Grant Mitchell, a third-year Burchell student who said he wants to go to college after he graduates, or maybe join the Navy.

"Well, the policy on fighting is simple here. Don't do it," Grant said to his peers. "We've only had one fight here in the last five years and those people aren't here anymore. If you have a problem, talk it out. Don't fight or it'll just screw up your last chance."

Contact John Davidson at john.davidson@frontiersman.com.