Whaling City High's class of 2024 had the highest graduation rate in the school's history.

NEW BEDFORD — Graduation season is always an exciting time in school districts, as students prepare to embark on their first steps after high school. In New Bedford, there's some extra cause for celebration this year, as Whaling City Jr./Sr. High School — New Bedford's so-called "alternative" high school — commenced its largest graduating class ever.

"'Alternative' has such a negative connotation," said Whaling City Principal John Tweedie. "Really, in my mind, it makes more sense to call us a 'pathway school.'"

And this year's 47 Whaling City grads seem to have their post-high school pathways well situated: According to guidance department data, 14 plan to attend two-year college with the option to finish degrees at a four-year college, 13 have work plans, three have four-year college plans, two are military-bound, and one is headed to trade school. Another 14 will continue on career pathways already started during their time as Whaling City students, through community partnerships the school has with local employers.

"Bianca is one young lady who's on a career path at St. Luke's Hospital, doing patient services," Tweedie said of one of his 2024 graduates, Bianca Fernandes-Rezende. She first came to Whaling City in 2022 as a sophomore ELL (English language learner) student, Tweedie said. "It's a foot in the door that's exposing her to all these different things — from there she might say, hey, I want to be an X-ray technician, or a nurse."

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Did Whaling City set a state record?

While it won't be officially recognized until the state releases its student population data in the fall, New Bedford Public Schools estimates this year's Whaling City graduation rate will stand at around 75%. This would reflect a steady continuation of the success realized last year, when the grad rate jumped from 40.6% in 2022 to 70.8% in 2023.

As can be seen in the following table, prior to 2023, Whaling City High's graduation rate stayed consistently well below half the senior class:

While there's little to no doubt that this year's Whaling City grad cohort is a new local record, it won't be officially recognized until the state releases its student population data in the fall, Tweedie and NBPS Superintendent Andrew O'Leary explained. However, O'Leary suspects it's likely that Whaling City's class of 2024 will be found to have "one of the highest, if not the current highest" graduation rate among alternative high schools in all of Massachusetts, he said.

"Since the mid 2000s Massachusetts has seen numerous alternative high schools and programs, such as Lawrence RISE, Fall River's Resiliency Prep, etc. However, Whaling City has left the pack," O'Leary said in reference to the school's high success rate of the last two years. He also noted these accomplishments were made with Whaling City High's credit requirement matching that of New Bedford High, which he called "an almost uniquely high bar" among Mass. alternative schools.

Who attends Whaling City High?

Whaling City Jr./Sr. High opened in the 2008-2009 school year, as an alternative option for NBPS' middle-to-high school students; while the district's former alternative school, West Side High, became Trinity Day Academy. The latter now stands as the district's designated option for students with individualized education plans, or IEPs, that call for a "public day setting," Tweedie said, enabling Whaling City to focus more pointedly on students with behavior-based issues.

"Yeah, they do come in with some behaviors but you have to understand there are reasons behind them," he said.

What has changed at Whaling City?

While Tweedie only became principal at Whaling City four years ago, he says he was already well-acquainted with the population the school served and the circumstances that often brought them there, and to West Side High before that, having been a New Bedford juvenile court liaison for 18 years before becoming an educator.

"Back in those days, it was really looked at as a consequential placement; You acted up enough times at New Bedford High and now they said that's it, you're going to Whaling City," Tweedie said.

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What's different now, Tweedie continued, is that more Whaling City students are there by choice, thoughtful recommendation, or both.

"There's a lot of students now who historically wouldn't have been transferred here, but with me working directly with New Bedford High School, I might say listen, this kid keeps skipping and is more than likely going to flunk classes and drop out," Tweedie said. "So let's nip it in the bud and move this kid here, where there's limited distractions, it's harder to skip, and it'll be easier to focus.

"There's kids who have an opportunity to go back to New Bedford High and they may try it out then end up back with me like, 'Nope, too big; I found my place in the world right here."

Tweedie said it's also not out of the question for parents to become interested in what Whaling City High has to offer and opt to come in for a tour.

"I think the stigma around Whaling City has changed a lot," he said.

Digital platforms hybridize learning

As of last academic year, Tweedie says the addition of digital learning platforms has enabled Whaling City to make schedules more flexible, which has proven invaluable in making graduation more attainable in the often complicated lives of his students.

"It's more for my upperclassmen who may be in a situation where they have some real responsibilities, like listen, Tweedie, I gotta go to work, bro; I can't miss my Tuesday and Thursday shifts," he said. "And we say that's OK; as long as there's parental agreement, we can work it out so you just come in on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays...."

Tweedie also noted after school help is available for all students Monday through Thursday, which he says often comes in handy when a student is having trouble with a concept through one of the online platforms. The in-person help is offered in addition to on-screen tutoring available anytime online, Tweedie said.

Finding the right path

Tweedie says Whaling City's emphasis on "pathways" starts in the classroom through career-based coursework. "We do sort of a student interest inventory as part of that," he said. "Then from there we have the actual application of that work, where we're getting them into jobs and they're getting academic credit for it."

Tweedie said job placements through Whaling City High include a number of local nursing homes like Brandon Woods and Alden Court, manufacturers like Precix Inc. and Titleist, and a diverse range of others representing an array of industries.

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"Not like there's anything wrong with jobs like working at a pizza place or something like that, but our thing is getting them on these career paths where they might have to wear scrubs or learn certain equipment," Tweedie said.

Class Valedictorian Jada Tarkpor, who is headed to Bristol Community College to study early education, found her area of interest while mentoring elementary-age students at Carney Academy, Tweedie said.

"That experience was huge for her," he said.

Tweedie also noted that, in addition to its main academic program, Whaling City Jr./Sr./ High School also offers state HiSET programming.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Whaling City High class of 2024 sets a new bar