GEO International High will move its English-focused programming in the fall to Warren County Public School’s comprehensive high schools – Warren Central High, Greenwood High, Warren East High and South Warren High, according to WCPS.

GEO International, which serves refugees and other newcomer immigrant students, previously functioned as a four-year high school. More recently, a GEO International working committee moved to change the school into a two-year transitional academy focused on English language acquisition for the ongoing school year, according to Colton Isaacs, principal at Warren Central High and GEO International High, which sit adjacent on the same site.

The upcoming move will transition that English-focused programming to the comprehensive high schools, making it accessible to those who need it throughout their four high school years, Isaacs said.

GEO High was also established as what’s known as an “A5” program, which means its students have had very limited extra- and co-curricular activities – and notably, students are disallowed from participating on school sports teams. Students attend GEO International based on their language acquisition level as measured by ACCESS English language proficiency testing; those who struggle with the most simple basics in English are targeted for needing GEO International’s additional support, Isaacs said.

WCPS is making the change so GEO High students can access those extra- and co-curriculars for GEO High students, according to the district. WCPS shared additional details about the move with the Daily News.

“I can tell you that anecdotally, many, many students have come to me and others in terms of trying to figure out, ‘How can I participate in these opportunities, especially with sports?’” Isaacs said. “For me to have to sit down with a student and tell them, ‘Look, you can’t participate in this thing that you love,’ it’s heartbreaking … With this transition, I think it’s just going to really open the doors for these students to be able to do and participate in the things that they want to – aspire to.”

Students at A5 schools are already districted to an A1 school, and GEO High students will attend the comprehensive school they’re currently districted to. The vast majority will attend the adjacent Warren Central High, according to Isaacs.

WCPS Superintendent Rob Clayton said he anticipates all employees will have the opportunity to continue their employment in WCPS, and those reassigned will continue to work with students in a similar role that they’re in now.

The GEO High facility will continue to be used by Warren Central High, Clayton said.

“I’m not trying to suggest that all 120 students (…) at GEO International want to go back to their home school for opportunities – but the general tenor of why the enrollment is dropping is because of the positive experience our students are receiving in their school communities, and it’s directly related to, I think, first and foremost, our people,” Clayton said. “It’s all about the relationships and the supports we provide our students, but then also, they’re able to provide tremendous opportunities for these students in the co-curricular and extracurricular space.

And we’re not in a position to do that at GEO International High School as it exists.

“So, because of that, and seeing the enrollment, we weren’t going to continue the programming there and watch it dwindle down to fewer and fewer students.”

Clayton added that WCPS’s comprehensive high schools have 104 extracurricular activities, 28 career pathways, 22 dual credit options, and about 24 AP offerings. And, while A5 schools can offer clubs, the smaller size of schools such as GEO High has limited the number of club opportunities compared to those at the comprehensive high schools, Isaacs said.

“That opportunities piece really drives a lot of the decisions that we make,” Clayton said. “Our goal is to ensure that no matter which school your son or daughter attends, the opportunities are similar across the board.”

Additionally, about 32% of WCPS students are multilingual, Clayton said – and comprehensive schools have substantially improved their programming for multilingual students, in part due to that high number, he added.

“Our elementary schools scored very high – high schools scored high – in (English learner) progress,” Clayton said. “Our multilingual students (…) are being fully immersed into the school community far more effectively than we were able to do in the past.”