By Kim Hilsenbeck

Last week’s Part One of the Hays CISD Live Oak Academy story brought readers insight into what the school is all about. In this second story, students and graduates tell their own stories. The cost-per-student is also addressed.

(Editor’s note: the “um”, “you knows”,“uhs” and “likes” were taken from student quotes to make the piece more readable.)

August

August Tapia, 17, of Kyle was one of five current students who recently discussed their experiences and why they chose Live Oak Academy. 

“The environment is so much different here than at Lehman and Hays,” she said. August attended both of the Hays CISD traditional high schools prior to being accepted into Live Oak Academy.

She said even the teachers at Live Oak are different than in the district’s traditional schools.

“I cannot tell you how many times that I have felt uncomfortable with male teachers,” she said. “How many times I’ve been belittled by female teachers telling me I’ll never be anything.”

In response to what must have been an appalled look, she responded, “You’d be honestly surprised at what you’d hear, experience and see in high school.”

But August said none of that happens at Live Oak. She also said classes at the school are not easier; in fact she believes they are more challenging than at a traditional high school because teachers hold students accountable.

“You have to do the work,” she said.

Ryan

Ryan, who did not want his full name used, 17, transferred to Live Oak when his parents moved to the area for new jobs. His experience at a public high school of about 2,000 students in Florida left him with a sour taste in his mouth. He prefers to dress how he wants (shorts and a t-shirt on this day) and not have to keep up with the latest fashion. Many of the students said at Live Oak, kids don’t make a big deal about clothes and other superficial issues.

“At my old school, it was the rich kids and the poor kids,” he said. “You don’t have that divide here. It’s a lot more real.”

Kaylah

After being bullied in middle and early high school — she attended Lehman High — Kaylah Moore, 17, sank into a deep depression. She said she is conscious of her weight and that was part of the reason for the bullying she experienced. She said Live Oak Academy in many ways saved her life.

“Since I’ve been here, I’ve changed so much,” Kaylah said. “I’m the happiest person.”

Kaylah said there is no bullying at Live Oak. She believes she is thriving in the school’s environment.

Daniel

Only one of the five students in the group said he applied to Live Oak to stay out of more trouble. Daniel Rangel, 18, of Kyle, attended went to Lehman High for the first few years of his high school career. He has known Kaylah since they were young and they are what each called best friends. Daniel said he is affiliated with a gang; Kaylah affirmed it but said it’s his choice even if she doesn’t like it.

“My freshman year, there was always the whole rival gang vs. gang thing. I was involved,” he said. “I’m in the [district’s disciplinary] system for that.”

Daniel also attended the Hays CISD’s juvenile detention school, The Impact Center. School officials have the option to place students at that school for violations of the student code of conduct, though typically the more serious offenses land a student in Impact.

While some community members said they thought Live Oak was a last-ditch school, Impact is often the last-chance before a student is expelled.

“I went to Impact my freshman and sophomore year. They were both for fighting. I started getting known in the system. I hit 18 and like I told Kaylah, it’s possible I could go to jail.”

Daniel wanted a change so he applied to Live Oak and said he’s on a better path. He has a job at a fast food restaurant. He also said there is almost no drama, no bullying and no judgment of others at the school.

“We don’t misjudge you,” he said.

JC

JC Sevin, 17, came to Texas from Maryland. His old public high school had about 500 students. He said there was a lot of drama, and his parents felt that putting him in an even larger school (Hays High) was not the best choice.

“I have ADHD,” he said. “I get a lot of attention for that from teachers here.”

He also said there is little drama and he doesn’t worry about fitting in with a particular crowd.

“At my old school, that’s what it was all about,” he said. 

JC aspires to be a rapper, but knows he needs to overcome his stage fright. Everyone around the table was supportive, but August asked him to please refrain from busting out rhymes in the middle of classes.

The entire group laughed with JC, not at him.

This group of teens said Live Oak students have the option to participate in extracurricular activities such as band, cheerleading and sports, as long as they get permission from Hays High School.

A dissenting view

But offering a school of choice like Live Oak doesn’t come cheap. The 2012-2013 figures, the most recent available from Hays CISD, break down the per-student cost by campus. Live Oak spent $9,905 per student, compared to about $4,600 and $4,800 for Lehman and Hays high schools, respectively.

Buda resident Will McManus, who ran for a school board at-large seat in May but lost to incumbent Sandra Bryant, wrote in an email, “I am opposed to this being a separate school especially in light of the fact that we will need a third high school of some sort. I am not opposed to the educational mission but what we spend to accomplish it is ridiculous.”

He suggested making the facility a freestanding freshman campus for Hays High School, then build a similar structure for Lehman High.

“Then we don’t have to spend 80-100 million on a new “full” high school,” he wrote. “Take the academy kids and return them to their home campuses but create a special cohort type learning track that keeps classes small and offers many of the opportunities found at LOA.”

The graduates

Sarah

Sarah Kennedy, 18, graduated from Live Oak in April of this year. She came here from east Texas where she attended a traditional public high school. 

“I didn’t have any of my credits, I had to start at the beginning,” she said in a phone interview. “Within six months (at Live Oak), I finished the whole year. You have to be — I guess the term is motivated to go through with that type of school. They don’t baby you like they would in regular high school where no matter if you fail a test, they pass you. But at Live Oak, if you fail, you just stay.”

Sarah said she is now attending ACC and feels her experience at Live Oak better prepared her for college work than a traditional high school.

“I feel it makes you more responsible for your own education,” she said. “It was up to me.”

MacKenzie

MacKenzie Rae Salazar, who said she is a graduate of Live Oak, wrote this in response to the Facebook post, “I went to the Live Oak Academy, I have never been in trouble nor was I on the verge of being a high school drop out. I graduated “second” in my graduating class and continued my education at Angelo State University where I majored in Criminal Justice. Live Oak Academy has some of the most caring and helpful teachers in the district. It wasn’t my last chance at education, it was a choice I made to get my life after high school started. The Live Oak Academy is awesome.”