Another Chance School District 81’S Unity Program Offers Teens An Unorthodox Approach To High School

There’s nothing quite like watching a group of students nonchalantly plop Ziploc-encased fetal pigs on the table and arm themselves with scalpels.

“Just blunt dissect away the fat,” calls out teacher Bob Krasin, master of ceremonies for the day’s activities.

More than a few disgusted squeals could be heard last week as students in Havermale’s Unity program started their new project, but the noises quickly subsided into concentrated silence.

Following a diagram, students painstakingly cut the skin, pulling it back to reveal a whole system of muscles, arteries, ligaments. It was a view most of them had never seen before.

“Now what would you do in a normal high school that’s better than this?” asked a tie-dye-clad girl.

That’s Unity in a nutshell.

Unity operates under the umbrella of Havermale Alternative Center - Spokane School District 81’s alternative program that provides everything from a truancy center to Jantsch, the district’s alternative high school. Like many of the programs at Havermale, Unity offers a choice for students who didn’t thrive in the city’s high schools.

Students come from every part of the area, from Browne’s Addition to Mead. They come for a variety of reasons.

Some have been kicked out of their previous schools. Others have a history of drug abuse or family violence. Some have babies.

“These are kids who, for one reason or another, didn’t fit well into the comprehensive high schools,” said Havermale Principal George Renner.

“It’s more fun,” is the simplified explanation of Tommy Butler, a 14-year-old who attends Unity instead of Lewis and Clark.

There are also those who simply felt lost in the shuffle of a high school with 1,500 students or more. Even Jantsch, with 275 students, proved too big for some, said Renner, and that prompted the creation of Unity five years ago.

Learning here is very activities-based, peppered with lots of field trips and group projects to keep the students interested. While Krasin’s group pores over their pigs or reads Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest,” Mary True’s students may be next door watching CNN and discussing current events.

The other side of the educational coin is stabilizing the lives of the students. Lessons on everything from anger management to depression to relationships are part of the curriculum.

Speakers often visit the classrooms to discuss issues facing the students. A drug-abuse specialist is a regular fixture.

“These are all the things these kids need,” said Krasin.

The idea behind this unorthodox approach, says Renner, is to provide students the valuable tools of honesty and communication generally lacking in a mainstream high school.

They can let their teachers know if they couldn’t get to their homework because a baby kept them up all night or there was a problem at home, he said.

“We can take the time, in a small environment like that, to become aware of the lives of these students,” Renner said.

Watching the bright-eyed students laugh and exchange typical high school jokes - most of the conversation during dissection was some variation on the theme of vomiting - it is hard to believe such serious issues face these students.

Fourteen-year-old Kevin Vadon came to Unity this year after a long tradition of regular expulsions from Lincoln Heights Elementary and Chase Middle School. Unity is a chance to start a new tradition.

Vadon said he likes Unity because the students get into their work and have fun with it.

“This is a normal day,” he said, eyes carefully focused on his work. “I guess that depends on what you say is normal, though,” he added, laughing.

Krasin switched professions - he formerly was a chiropractor - because he said he wanted to teach so he could coach basketball. Now, three years later, he says the coaching has fallen by the wayside.

“I still coach,” he said with a shrug. “But teaching ended up being more fun and challenging.

“These are kids with a history of being mistreated,” he added as he surveyed the room. “But they’re good kids.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo