South Bend Alternative may become Rise Up

February 23, 2011|By KIM KILBRIDE, Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND — The former Bendix High School, which is now known as South Bend Alternative, is likely getting yet another new name.

Principal George Azar told school board members at Tuesday’s meeting that students and staff members have come up with the potential name of Rise Up Diploma Plus Academy.

The school, which has been on academic probation for five years and is at risk of state intervention as early as this fall, has undergone a transformation with a new curriculum, new staff and new location inside the Eggleston School building.

Its reorganization enabled the corporation to obtain a federal School Improvement Grant of $2.5 million,

In an update on South Bend Alternative, which currently has some 180 students, Azar said a number of positive things are happening.

Students have taken the initiative to create a number of clubs and extracurriculars, such as student government, a newspaper and a basketball team.

The attendance rate, he said, is 87.5 percent. Students finish courses on a quarterly basis and six have earned enough credits already this school year to graduate.

As for the requested name change, the board is set to vote on the matter at its first March meeting.

The school’s mascot, Azar said, would be the phoenix, which rose out of the ashes to aspire to great things.

Indiana Department of Education officials, who have been at Riley and Washington this week assessing progress at those two high schools that also face state intervention, said they will visit the former Bendix School in coming weeks.

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