Oakwood Digital Academy in Cobb County graduated fewer than half its seniors last year, yet students are lining up to get in.
The privately run alternative school, which has an enrollment of 150, gives failing students 16 and older a chance to fast-track their educations and get a diploma before they reach 21 and age out of the system.
Despite the graduation rate -- about 40 percent last year, according to the Georgia Department of Education -- officials say the school has shown improvement in some areas since Ombudsman Educational Services assumed management last year.
"It's becoming very popular," said Principal Steven Butler, who works on-site for the school system, monitoring Ombudsman's performance. "When they opened last year, the idea was to find students. Now we have 150 kids on our waiting list."
Butler said the graduation statistics suffer because of students who failed at other schools and then transferred in.
Superintendent Michael Hinojosa understands the argument. Transferring students do "partially" affect the school's numbers, he said. "But that's still no excuse."
He said he'll be watching for improvement. The multi-year contract with Ombudsman can be canceled each spring.
Cobb hired the company because of one significant number: $5,000. That's roughly the amount Ombudsman is charging to educate each student, far less than the $18,000 or so that Cobb spent per student when it did the job itself.
Ombudsman is known around the country for managing alternative schools that are a destination for misbehaving students. The company runs more than 40 schools in Georgia, most of them disciplinary centers, including several in Cobb.
Oakwood is different, though. The students there chose the school. The first "choice" digital school managed by Ombudsman has been operating in Douglas County for three years. The newest school opened in Greene County this year.
Cobb school board Chairwoman Alison Bartlett said the county needs more schools like Oakwood. Cobb has about 107,000 students, and many of them could benefit from the flexible digital study model, she said. "I would like to expand the program because I think we're not reaching enough kids."
The school offers the standard core curriculum but uses technology and one-on-one tutoring to deliver it. Students take self-directed courses in all the standard subjects, such as history, English and math, while sitting alone at computer terminals. The software dictates the curriculum, but the students study whatever they are in the mood for at that moment.
"If you feel like history one day, you can just take a bunch of history," said Dane Fleming, 16. "If you feel like physics, do that."
Dane should be a junior but was held back last year. He said he was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and that he grew bored at Hillgrove High when other students didn't understand the material.
"It would just keep getting slower and slower and I would just lose interest," he said, adding that he sometimes fell asleep. He came to Oakwood to take a heavy course load and graduate a semester early. "Here, you don't need to rely on anyone; it's all about you."
When students are stumped, they get the undivided attention of four teachers who are certified in the core subject areas. The students must attend daily but only for three hours. And there are three blocks of time to choose from. The school is geared toward working students who need the flexibility.
John Wacha, a regional executive with Ombudsman, said there are several indicators of improved performance. The grade point average rose to 2.61 last year from 1.64 the previous year. Scores also improved on English and science tests, though they dropped slightly in math and more in social studies.
"We made some improvements," he said. "We know we have some things to improve upon."
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