The ESSC, located at 2831 N Lincoln Rd in Escanaba, serves students in grades nine through 12 and provides a smaller, more personalized learning environment.

The center also offers credit recovery and graduation support, with staff placing a strong emphasis on emotional well-being and addressing challenges students may face outside the classroom.

ESSC Director Laurie Moberg opened the presentation by explaining the center’s role in serving students whose needs may not be met in a traditional school setting.

“We have a traditional high school where it works for a large majority of students. It’s a great fit for many, many kids, but it does not fit everybody. There are a lot of kids that need something different,” Moberg said. “And so that is what we are here for.”

The Escanaba Student Success Center, located at 2831 N Lincoln Rd in Escanaba, serves students in grades nine through 12 and provides a smaller, more personalized learning environment. (Photo courtesy of Escanaba Area Public Schools)

Programs offered through the center include “Why Try?,” which teaches resilience and coping skills, a mentorship program, clubs such as book and gardening clubs, as well as Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses.

Students also have access to a shower, washer and dryer and a food pantry. Moberg said an at-risk coordinator will join the center this fall.

Several former and current students addressed the board during the presentation, offering firsthand accounts of the center’s impact on their lives.

Parker, a former student who attended both Escanaba and Gladstone high schools before transferring to ESSC, said he struggled to find motivation and stability in school and his home life.

After enrolling at the center, he said, “I had the same attitude as before as in all the other schools, and the only difference was the teachers here didn’t really give up on me when they should have.”

Parker also said staff members – along with a car full of other students – would pick him up in the mornings because they knew he would not attend school otherwise.

“What sets the Escanaba Student Success Center apart is the unrelenting, amazing efforts from the faculty to ensure success in their students, even at the lack of their own gain,” Parker added.

Parker went on to complete Bay College’s welding program, in which he graduated with honors, and now works full time as a welder while pursuing engineering studies.

Current ESSC student Elijah also spoke to the board, sharing how mental health struggles affected both personal and academic aspects of their life. They said enrolling at the center has significantly improved their well-being and renewed their motivation to complete high school.

“Since moving to the success center, I don’t feel the need to fake being sick to get out of school or work,” Elijah said. “I’m able to efficiently learn without worrying about things I shouldn’t be worrying about or things that I don’t even have control over. I feel remarkably better since moving here. Even though I’m scared to graduate next year, I actually want to, and I have never felt the will to get a diploma.”

Two mothers also addressed the board, crediting the center’s staff with helping their children overcome significant academic and mental health challenges.

One mother said her daughter experienced severe anxiety throughout her education, making school a traumatic experience. Although her daughter received an Individualized Education Program (IEP) in fourth grade, she still struggled to receive the individualized attention she needed.

After transferring to ESSC in ninth grade, the mother said her daughter began to thrive.

“For the first time in her academic life, she’s not just surviving, but she’s excelling,” the mother said. “She loves school, she loves the staff. They see her as a roadmap to succeed, they don’t look at her learning and emotional needs as an inconvenience.”

Another mother said her daughter struggled with severe depression and other mental health challenges that worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. When she sought guidance from ESSC staff, she said Moberg immediately helped connect her daughter with counseling services.

“(The staff) sit with our children in the darkness until they can see the light of what’s going on around them,” the mother said. “They love them like their own family.”

The mother recognized the staff for playing a key role in her daughter’s improvement, leaving many in the room visibly moved and teary-eyed.

“You gave me my daughter back,” she added. “This is not just an alternative school. This is a place that is for healing, encouraging, embracing and nurturing our children that are not able to be in a mainstream type of environment.”

Through individualized support, mental health resources and strong relationships with students, the center has been proven to help students overcome significant personal and academic challenges.

—

Sophie Vogelmann can be reached at 906-786-2021 or svogelmann@dailypress.net.