By Jacob Doyle
The largest high school in Colorado recently kicked off their 2022-23 school year with their annual “GOAL Forum”. Which School you might ask? GOAL High School of course.
GOAL is a charter high school birthed in Pueblo in 2007 and now authorized under District 49. GOAL serves the needs of nearly 5000 students yearly. The school is free, public, fully accredited, and in great standing with the Colorado Department of Education as a “performance” rated school.
Part of the reason for GOAL’s success is because of the great staff they have, led by Ms. Ryan Mathews, Assistant Principal of GOAL High School’s Pagosa Springs student drop-in center.
Ryan struggled as a high schooler, explaining, “I did not think I was smart enough to graduate or smart enough to go into college… I really believed that I was just not capable of learning… I struggled to graduate… I learn a different way than the traditional student and until I graduated, I didn’t know that. I just assumed ‘eh, I’m not smart enough, whatever'”.
After discovering a love for art, she attended art school, but quickly learned she loved teaching just as much. Through learning how to teach others, Ms. Mathews was able to discover that she wasn’t taught very well in high school. That’s because she was a square peg rammed into a circle hole. She was not taught in a way that was conducive to her learning.
Eventually, she found a place that was more adaptable, that had the methods and facilities to tailor to student’s needs — GOAL High School. GOAL shares her vision of teaching students in a way that suits them the most. Something she said would have benefited her a lot as a student.
While being with GOAL, Ms. Mathews has discovered a great community. She currently resides in Pagosa, a town she says has a “…family type of feeling… we are there for you no matter what…” She continued, “that’s what I want to give to the community as well; we are in town to serve and help the students in our community. That’s what we want to do.”
But the reason why Ryan is so effective in her methods is because of the model she and GOAL have set up. “I love the model that we have set up… [we] focus first and foremost on building a relationship.” Attendance and academics are secondary to learning more about the student. What’s happening in their life? How do they learn? What are their goals and aspirations? “Until that coach has had a chance to sit down with that student”… and develop a relationship… everything else can wait.
With this mindset, she has been able to help several hundred students to graduate, which helps GOAL in its mission of developing productive members of society.
Jacob Doyle is a Student Intern with GOAL Academy