Impact Academy teacher Chris Moreau talks with students about politics during a class in Lewiston on Thursday morning. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal Buy this Photo

LEWISTON — Hunter Bronk plots points on an X and Y axis graph that will show him how long it would take to make a profit in the restaurant business.

Algebra II teacher J. Levasseur chose this lesson because Hunter wants to be a restaurateur. “We like to make it relate to life experience,” Levasseur says.

Hunter, a Lewiston High School senior, is one of 65 high and middle school students attending Impact Academy, which opened this year in the Longley Building.

The academy was the brainchild of former Superintendent Todd Finn who resigned in August. It was funded with resources from the middle and high school budgets, Assistant Superintendent Karen Paquette said Friday.

The program was designed for students who do not thrive in regular classroom settings. Finn’s goal was to improve the city’s attendance and graduation rates by meeting the needs of all students.

That means meeting them where they are and moving them along, Levasseur says.

It’s working for Hunter who is on track to graduate in the spring.

“They just allow students to move at a slower pace,” he said Thursday, working on his graph as Levasseur wrote formulas that appeared on an overhead projection.

“The teachers hold your hand a bit so you can get through without being stressed,” Hunter says.

There’s no “negative connotation” for making mistakes, Levasseur says.

“It’s not a mistake if you learn from it,” Hunter chimes in.

Embracing mistakes and learning from them is one of the key tenets of the program, Director Sara Sims says.

Impact Academy Director Sara Sims reads a short story that student Daelyn Sargent was working on Thursday morning at the former Longley Elementary School in Lewiston. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal Buy this Photo

Sims, formerly the principal of Connors Elementary School, was appointed by Finn to design the academy. She also oversees the similar Next STEP program initiated by the Tree Street Youth Center. Next STEP also is housed at Longley.

“What makes (Impact Academy) a little different is that over here we are proactive instead of reactive,” Sims says.

“Most alternative programs are reactive,” she says. “You get in trouble and off you go.”

At Impact Academy, anyone can get in, she says. Some are making up failed classes, others are taking honors courses or doubling up on electives.

What they have in common is that a large high school — Lewiston’s enrollment is 1,447 — doesn’t work for them. Most academy students have anxiety issues. Many are economically disadvantaged.

“We are trying to create a space that is safe, welcoming and warm,” Sims says. “Some of these kids are going through things that we could never imagine.”

Hunger, abusive parents, unheated homes. No one at home who cares about them.

Impact Academy is all about caring and meeting the needs of students, Sims says, calling it a “village approach.”

Classes are small, eight to 10 students, often split into smaller groups. Staff includes five core teachers — English, science, math, social studies and a behavioral specialist — and two education technicians.

Impact Academy student Cameron Child works on a science project in the new program at the former Longley Elementary School in Lewiston. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal Buy this Photo

The teachers have anywhere from 15 to 34 years of experience and are new to Lewiston Public Schools.

Sims describes the staff as “passionate and dynamic, selfless and caring and tough love all at the same time. Everything they do puts kids at the forefront.”

Love is a word you hear often in the classrooms and hallways.

In Jody Brier’s English class, two teens are creating character maps for stories they will write.

Bret Binette bends close to the paper on his desktop as Brier says he is a natural storyteller who could grow up to write young adult fiction.

“What I like about this is that it is not high school,” Bret says. He declines to elaborate, but adds, “I honestly love Mr. Tremblay. I love her, too,” he nods toward Brier.

Eric Tremblay is the behavioral specialist.

He describes his role as “more casual, less judgmental” than it would be in a regular school setting.

Brier taught special education for 15 years, she says. She loves this job and is “blown away” by the students, who keep journals detailing what they’ve been through, their struggles with anxiety.

“I feel like I know them,” she says.

In Chris Moreau’s social studies class, as students are about to be dismissed, he calls out questions about the day’s lesson.

“What was the Lusitania?”

“A ship!” four voices yell.

“What kind of ship?”

“Passenger!”

“Why is it important?”

“It was sunk by the Germans! During World War I! With Americans on board!”

As the students shoulder their backpacks and slip out the door, one girl says loudly that the Germans were “—holes.”

That kind of language likely would lead to a reprimand or punishment in standard school settings, Sims says.

But here, punishment is not a thing.

“The beauty of what we do is that the public education system is not geared for our kids,” Moreau says. “They are the proverbial square pegs in round holes. We are trying to make it real for them.”

The students attend in groups, grades seven through nine Monday and Tuesday, grades 10-12 on Thursday and Friday. They are in classes for four hours and then go home to study remotely for two more hours, Sims says. They also get remote instruction on days they are not in class.

The work and standards are the same as they are at the high school, she says.

“They are taking full course loads, just as rigorous, but we are offering a lot of choice and voice to students,” Sims says.

This gives them investment and empowerment to be who they are and express themselves and feel connected, she says. “That’s very powerful.”

A diagram on one of the white boards at Impact Academy. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal Buy this Photo

Another difference is how their school days begin.

After grabbing breakfast, students and teachers meet in classrooms for 20 to 25 minutes for “social/emotional” sessions.

They can talk about things that happened at home or react to a video or short story. This gives them a chance to explore “right versus wrong, morals and values, how to become global citizens,” Sims says.

In a safe place with adults.

Word of the program’s success is spreading and there is a waiting list to get in, Sims says.

She sees this as a “beautiful opportunity” to double the number of students or even more if the resources are available.

Creating the program from the ground up has been an “amazing” experience for her and the staff.

Moreau, the social studies teacher, says it has been a daunting challenge, but “it’s fun. It’s the most free I’ve ever felt teaching. It’s a cool place.”

Sims says these are the happiest teachers she’s ever worked with, and this seems to be true.

“What we’re really doing is revolutionizing education,” she says.