On this episode of Kids First, Keven Cohen welcomes Kelli Campbell and Dr. Jacinta Bryant of Acceleration Academies, joined by Superintendent Chris Neeley. Together they unpack a simple truth that drives everything the academies do: a traditional high school is not built for every student, and when a young person struggles, the reason is usually something happening in life rather than an inability to do the work. Campbell shares a few short student stories that capture exactly who these tuition-free public charter schools are for, from a teen who needed a fresh start to one balancing full-time work to another who simply needed to focus on one course at a time. With locations serving the Myrtle Beach, North Charleston, and Summerville areas, the academies are reaching hundreds of students across South Carolina who might otherwise have slipped away.
The conversation goes deeper into what makes the model work, including a flexible hybrid schedule, a \"one course at a time\" approach, and wraparound support from content coaches and mentors who help students clear the non-academic barriers standing in their way. Campbell and Bryant describe welcoming, lounge-like spaces designed around real student needs, along with community partnerships that have helped young people facing homelessness and other hardships not just graduate, but build a life afterward. Woven throughout is a belief Chris Neeley returns to often: that every child carries a spark, and that the right environment can help that spark catch fire. It is a hopeful, eye-opening look at how second chances become success stories.
🔗 Learn more: https://www.accelerationacademies.org/our-locations/south-carolina/
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