In an effort to turn around failing Dorchester Academy, Boston Public Schools and Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) are mulling a partnership that, if approved by the state this spring, would transform the Fields Corner school beginning in September.
The idea is for ABCD to implement an “innovation school plan” that will allow the nonprofit to funnel additional resources and funds into the level-four school to boost its graduation rate, said ABCD President and CEO John J. Drew.

The process is still in its early stages, according to BPS and ABCD officials, but if the State Department of Secondary and Elementary Education okays the plan, Dorchester Academy will not admit a freshman class next September 2015, which will shrink its total enrollment to roughly 150 students, with 50 students added each year for the following three years in a referral process similar to other alternative high schools.

Primary consideration is being given to students and their parents, according to BPS spokesperson Denise Snyder. The school plans to meet with students this week to discuss the transition. Those are not interested in attending the ABCD-run school will be given the option to transfer to another high school in the BPS system, she added.

“The state hasn’t approved anything yet,” said Snyder. “The plan would be to create a smaller environment, focus more on a non-traditional structure for a school day to partner with ABCD, with a more comprehensive wraparound model for services with students.”

This model is already in ABCD’s wheelhouse.

“Given the fact that many of their students are over-age, under-credited, ELL students, special education – that’s a student population that we have been working with for over 20 years under our existing alternative education model and that remains the target of our innovation school proposal,” said Mark Isenburg, vice president of Workforce Development & Technology Services at ABCD.

ABCD now runs two alternative schools in BPS: University High School for students between 16 and 21 who are otherwise at risk in the traditional school system; and William J. Ostiguy High School for young people struggling in high school from addiction and substance abuse.

The hoped-for partnership is the product of Dorchester Academy’s status as a Level 4 school, which kicked off a state-designated turnaround last fall and gave BPS four years to bring the school back up to snuff.

“The turnaround status creates a lot of anxiety among staff, students, and parents of the existing school,” said Isenburg. “My goal is to alleviate as much of that anxiety as I can while still staying within the rules of the law. We need to collectively – parents, students, and staff – move forward in making this all possible for next year.”