The BEACON Program

BEACON is a Collaborative for Educational Services alternative educational program for Franklin County high school students, supporting 11th and 12th grade students, who are still enrolled in school but at high risk of dropping out.

Home E Children/Youth/Families E Beacon Program

Believing every adolescent can open new doors.

BEACON is serving 15 Greenfield High School students for the 2023-24 school year. The program was originally developed as a partnership between Greenfield High School and Greenfield Community College in 2020.

BEACON is now enrolling students from across all of Franklin County for the fall of 2024.

The Experience

BEACON students spend their mornings at their sending high school participating in core academic subjects with their teachers, and spend their afternoons at Greenfield Community College for BEACON programming.

The program works hard to create a community where every student feels safe, included and ready to learn. The experience is designed to begin right away with personalized attention and care that helps to establish a sense of belonging. Students build a routine, receive academic coaching, and gain trust in the program and environment. As they progress in the program, students will become more engaged in project-based learning.

BEACON is intentionally designed to help students develop the tools and knowledge needed to persist through high school graduation, and works with students to develop a solid plan for post-secondary success.

The BEACON Program is located at Greenfield Community College, East Building, 1 College Drive, Greenfield, MA, 01301.

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When you give a student the keys to their own learning, big things happen.

— Max Fripp, Program Director

BEACON has created space for our students to get to the finish line of graduation via a different path that meets them where they are.
It not only encourages the students academically, but allows space to explore their interests outside of the usual academics offered in a high school setting.

— Gina Johnson, Associate Principal, Greenfield High School

Four Programmatic Building Blocks for Success

Academic Coaching and Credit Recovery

Students spend an hour each day with personalized support and coaching, completing school assignments, studying for tests, and when needed, working to receive credits for previous classes that they have failed.

Entrepreneurship

BEACON students develop an entrepreneurship mindset by creating and piloting their own business ideas while developing critical 21st-century skills.

Service Learning

Students work in small groups to design and lead community service projects aimed at addressing social challenges that they are passionate about including public art projects, animal neglect, and community clean-up days.

Social, Emotional, and Physical Wellness

Through group and individual activities and exercises, students explore their personal holistic health and develop tools and practices to help them manage stress, experience joyfulness, participate in physical activity, and find gratitude in day-to-day life.