Brooklyn's Cyberarts Studio Academy goes from almost closing to a 99% graduation rate

The Cyberarts Studio Academy in Brooklyn was on the verge of closing, with absenteeism and a low graduation rate plaguing its students just four years ago. 

A little more than 200 students walk the halls, with 19 different languages spoken. But there was a 68% chronic absenteeism rate and a 76% attendance and graduation rate, which is a failing grade by most administrators' standards. 

The transformation of the school has been nothing short of miraculous, and it all started with principal Valrie Wauchope. 

"The students did not seem engaged, and I knew that right away there was an urgency to ensure that our children were placed at the center of every decision that we had to make to improve everything in the school," she said.

During her first year, she said she hired a new assistant principal, guidance counselors and teachers. 

"The first thing when hiring is that whomever I hire in my school, they have to love children and they have to see the urgency in supporting every child," she said. "And for our lovely teachers who are already here, we provided them with the resources, the love and the support they needed to make their classrooms warm, welcoming, and inviting."

Now, the halls are filled with students excited about being present, and in return, they receive teachers who care and a pathway to success.

School counselor Raisa Vasquez said her students want to be there.

"I have seniors who ask me to make their schedule longer because they don't want to go home and they want to stay here with us. We make it fun. We make, we have a healthy environment and they love being here with and we love to have them," she said.

Assistant principal Jamin Harris said he noticed right away that students needed love when he started working there.

"So when I got on board, it was like, OK, how can we make school fun for them? How can we bring the love into the classroom?"

Students say it's about community, communication and a sense of belonging.

One student said the school has expanded and added new AP courses. Another said the teachers and staff are warm and welcoming.

The students now have a vested interest in their school. Their work appears in museums, and they travel internationally on school trips.

English teacher Chris Slaughter compared it to a runner's high.

"It's like we got them running, right, and they've gotten the extra win, and now they're just kind of rolling in cruise control right now. It took a while to get them to the cruise control level and just kinda maybe being able to elevate and going a little bit higher than before," he said.

Wauchope said the change has been dramatic.

"This past school year, we ended with a 99% graduation rate. It was almost 100, but the DOE does not count the GED, so we had one student who got their GED," she said. "But every single child who came into our school graduated with a pathway to success. So they are either in trade school or they're on to a two or four-year college."

Harris credits the principal.

"She knows what she wants. She's here for children. She puts them first, and that's the vision," he said.