Circumstances weren’t always on their side. That makes the milestone — earning a high school diploma — all the more impressive for the members of the Winston-Salem Street School’s 2024 graduating class.
“These 22 young adults more than likely would not have earned a high school diploma if they didn’t make the decision to come to our program,” said Mike Foster, Winston-Salem Street School’s executive director. “They all had their barriers and challenges that brought them to us. Once a student buys into the culture, as we saw with this group, they show us what they can do.”
Empowering young minds through a holistic education
A private nonprofit alternative high school for at-risk teenagers in Winston-Salem, the WSSS is designed to meet the needs of students who struggled in traditional schools due to academic and behavioral obstacles, many of whom were expelled or dropped out. WSSS was created to support these students and offers them a second chance to earn a diploma recognized by the state of North Carolina.
The Street School is a small, intensive care educational environment where students can develop and grow. The student/teacher ratio is 10-to-1, which allows teachers to give students the individualized attention they need. The school uses a holistic approach to education, strengthening students academically, socially, physically and spiritually based on Christian principles.
Foster said that the majority of their students have endured a lack of structure in their home lives. To weather that, Foster and his team try to make the school setting feel like a tight-knit family.
“When our students really see what the family piece is about, they see that we are here to support them and hold them accountable,” Foster said. “They understand why it’s important to show up on time, do their work and pay attention.”
Forging a path forward
When a student earns a diploma from the Street School, it comes with a different, longer-term perspective and an understanding of what it takes to succeed.
“We see students develop a love for learning, growing and looking at the bigger picture,” Foster said. “We implore them to see past today. You’ll remember your time at the Street School, but we are preparing you for the next 60-plus years after this.”
Graduates go to college, enlist in the military or immediately join the workforce. The Street School has a dual-enrollment program with Forsyth Technical Community College, which emphasizes a college- and career-ready education with programs teaching an array of skilled labor professions, among other degree tracks.
2024 graduate Teus Torrence’s story speaks to the opportunities the Street School offers. By making connections at a Street School fundraising luncheon, he is now on the path to a fruitful career.
“Teus is now doing a paid 40-hour a week apprenticeship with an electrical contracting company here in town,” Foster said. “It’s his dream career. He’s making money. All of his training and schooling is paid for.”
Growing programming
For the 2024-25 school year, the Street School hopes to offer students transportation to school for the first time, reducing a major barrier to success. The Street School also aims to grow its collaboration with the Sawtooth School for Visual Art.
Growing that programming and maintaining the Street School’s 10-to-1 student-teacher ratio requires support. As a private nonprofit organization, Winston-Salem Street School doesn’t receive state and federal funding. Instead, the school depends greatly on the generosity of others and operates solely on grants and donations from individuals, churches and businesses.
“This is a unique program that offers a tuition-free opportunity to a population that is underserved,” Foster said. “Our kids don’t have a cheering section and this opportunity offers them one. It’s so rewarding to see them accomplish something small and come running down the hill so excited because they got a B in math.”
Click here to learn how you can support the Winston-Salem Street School.
