Individual Attention Ensures Students Are Seen and Supported
Students often come to Central Wake after they hear about it through their friends, family, or school counselors. They enter throughout the year and leave as they complete the program. How long that takes depends on how many credits students need to earn to graduate—and the intensity of their motivation. On average, students stay three semesters.
Students at high schools in the Second Mile network typically enroll two or more years behind in credits toward graduation. Many also enter significantly below grade level academically. Historically, students have averaged a 3rd-grade reading level and a 4th-grade math level.
Orientation at the Raleigh school starts with an uplifting video from last year’s graduation, followed by a slide presentation on the school’s rules and expectations by Mark Waller, orientation and attendance specialist. Among the slides: No phones allowed during the day. No hoods, beanies, or hats worn while on campus. Zero tolerance for fighting, drugs, or blatant disrespect. The school expects at least 85 percent attendance from every student, and staff follow up when students are absent—calling home, sending letters, scheduling parent meetings, conducting a home visit, if needed, and working with families to address underlying obstacles such as transportation or housing.
A student said he’s considering getting a new phone but worries that it might get lost or stolen. Waller assures him phones are locked up, and the school has security cameras. Another concern: What if someone hits him and he merely defends himself? Waller reiterates the no-fighting policy. Students can find that adjusting to the school’s strict rules presents a challenge, but some say it provides a sense of safety that allows them to concentrate.
After the overview, students take a brief academic assessment to get a snapshot of their skills coming into the program. They will continue to take the test every 90 days until they meet the required level for graduation. Those scores will be included in the data the school provides to its charter authorizer as evidence students are improving.
The school’s graduation coach, Javon Fluker, meets individually with students upon arrival to set goals for three, six, and nine months—and beyond. When one incoming student expresses an interest in day trading, where he’s heard a $10 investment can turn into $3,000 using AI, Fluker challenges his assumptions about making easy money. “In order to succeed at a lot of things, there’s a path,” Fluker said, encouraging the student to become a lifelong learner and first consider an internship or studying finance in college. Once a month, he meets with every student to track progress on their graduation goal and career plan.
“I tell students all the time, your pay is typically directly aligned to the quality of education that you have and the expertise that you have,” Fluker said.
Sha Campbell, a reading specialist, said her students are often so busy getting through the day that they haven’t given much thought to what they want to do after high school. In fall 2025 she began to ask a “question of the day” to get her students to imagine their options: “What personal qualities do I view as my strengths?” or “What would you do if you were guaranteed success?”
Campbell displays their answers, written on sticky notes, on the classroom walls. The exercise reminds her students that they are “determined, caring, and good writers,” with dreams to “be a baker, help kids who struggle with anger management, or start a business.” It also gives the school’s graduation and career coaches direction in creating programs that will match students’ interests.
“I’m trying to get them to realize that the things they love and care about are going to translate into a career,” Campbell said. As they talk with her about job opportunities, she said, it opens new doors and boosts their motivation.
Teachers at the school take a personal interest in the students, often becoming mentors and that all-important caring adult who keeps them engaged. “Our students have been kind of bumped and bruised and jaded, so it’s important they find their person,” Hanley said.
Brooke Defreese, a June 2025 graduate of Central Wake, said teachers would tell her, “You got this!” when she was feeling down. “This school does not let you give up. They want you to achieve your goals regardless,” said Defreese, who found the smaller setting eased her social anxiety. Two months later, on the day before she enrolled at a nearby community college to study forensic science, Defreese stopped by the high school to talk with her teachers. “I was so nervous,” she said. “They said they missed me—and I’m not going to lie, I miss them a lot too.” She may return to ask a teacher to read over one of her essays later in the semester. “That’s the kind of school they are,” Defreese said.
Hanley said he looks for teachers who know how to re-engage students who haven’t thrived in traditional settings. Many Central Wake teachers have experience working in alternative, credit-recovery, or at-risk settings. New hires complete an onboarding process that introduces them to the Second Mile model, its culture of belonging, and its instructional expectations. Teachers receive embedded job coaching, participate in monthly professional learning communities to share best practices, and can tap into the professional network that connects Second Mile’s 27 schools.
“At Central Wake, the curriculum matters, but the people make it work,” Hanley said. “The throughline is simple: clear goals, steady coaching, and a team that refuses to give up on kids.”
Knowing students and their stories helps teachers connect them with needed wraparound services. Coleman and her staff step in to help or to de-escalate tensions when they see a student who is crying or hear commotion in the hall. They offer crisis intervention and grief counseling, as well as wellness programs on managing healthy relationships and handling stress. The school has partnered with a food bank to provide groceries for families and healthy snacks for students during the day. Across the Second Mile network, company officials report 95 percent of students take advantage of the school’s family support services.
