This year, Fusion Academy Boulder County saw its largest graduating class pick up their diplomas and start the next phase of their lives.
Fusion is a 6-12 grade private school that specializes in one-on-one classes for students with learning differences, with one campus located in Louisville. The setting allows teachers to center their lesson plan around the student to ensure they get the support they need, as opposed to the traditional classroom setting with multiple students.
The 11 students who graduated from Fusion Academy on June 13 comprised the largest the Boulder County campus has seen. Because of the small graduating class, teachers took time to personally congratulate each student during the ceremony.
Mitch Carver, head of school, said classes are focused on the relationship between the student and teachers as well as building trust to fail in order to learn. Many students have educational challenges and do not feel confident in the classroom, but the one-on-one setting allows the teacher to customize lesson plans to ensure their student flourishes.
“There’s a lot more personalization and meeting each student where they’re at,” Carver said.
Deann Bucher, teacher at Fusion, said the students were not having their needs met at a traditional school. Many of the students had to overcome “educational trauma,” which Bucher said often happens when students reach out for help but get shut down, causing them to have no confidence in themselves or their education.
Lillian Vaughn was one of Katie Haggett’s first students at Fusion, and Haggett quickly realized Vaughn lacked the self-confidence needed to grow. Haggett said she did her best to nurture Vaughn’s small but steadily growing confidence as she learned how she best learns.
“Lillian finally did something far more important than getting the right answer: she trusted herself enough to try,” Haggett said.
Lillian Vaughn and her mom, Preston Vaughn, said Fusion changed the trajectory of their lives as Lillian Vaughn went from being someone who was uncertain about graduating high school into someone who will be attending the University of Northern Colorado later this year.
“As soon as I walked into Fusion for the tour, it was so welcoming and it was such a wonderful community and I knew that was somewhere I belonged,” Lillian Vaughn said.
She explained that Fusion allowed her to learn and show that knowledge in her own way.
Preston Vaughn was heartbroken seeing her daughter struggle in school and basically give up, which was replaced by pride at seeing her thrive and get the support she needed. She asked her daughter whether she was ready to go back to a large classroom environment at college, but Lillian Vaughn said she now has the confidence and knowledge of how she learns and she can apply that.
“I’m excited for her, and this time two years ago, I wasn’t sure if my kid was going to get out of high school,” Preston Vaughn said.
For many Fusion students and families, a high school graduation was not always something they saw on the horizon. Carver said students who graduate high school have more opportunities opened up to them and learn many skills to help them with the rest of their lives.
“For me personally, as an educator, students graduating from high school experience a sense of dignity that they might not otherwise have,” Carver said.
Deva Coffin said before Fusion she had never had a good school experience and never thought she would graduate. She thanked her teachers for their help through her journey. Henry Cox echoed that statement, saying Fusion became his home.
“I went from dreading going to school to being so incredibly sad that I have to graduate,” Cox said.
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