A Rising New Program at NHS 

This year at NHS, in place of in-school suspension is the RISE program, which helps students rebuild relationships and fix issues in and out of the classroom. 

The RISE program is an in-school program that’s built on fostering respect, improving communication, and developing strategies for success. Students who are facing the penalty of in-school suspension can choose to either take an old in-school suspension or they can choose to take part in the RISE program. 

Along with the new program is also a new teacher. 

Mr. Brandon Wallace, the new RISE teacher, is new at NHS this year but has already started making connections with students. 

“When I don’t have a student in the RISE program I usually check in with students and work with different students that maybe need someone to talk to and get to know students,” Mr.Wallace said. 

The RISE program has been pretty successful so far according to Mr.Wallace. 

“It’s gone pretty well so far,” he said, “I’ve had no repeat offenders or somebody come back. I check in with them to make sure that they’re still on the right path and that they have learned from their mistakes and help them improve in translating what they’ve learned to how they move forward in the school community.”

Mr.Wallace not only helps with the RISE program but also helps students with mediation. Mediation is when two parties come together to see if they can get down to the root of the problem and resolve an issue within the two parties.

“It’s not just giving consequences to somebody but they’re learning from it. It’s not just saying 'You’re removed from the school for X amount of days,' you’re actually going to figure out what happened and how you can solve it,” he said.