ANDERSON, Ind. —
In the wake of the consolidation of Anderson and Highland high schools, it may appear that Anderson has just one public high school.
Not anymore.
The very first high school class of the Anderson Preparatory Academy hit the books in August, marking the beginning of a new chapter in the Anderson Preparatory Academy’s short history.
The school opened in 2008, serving grades 6, 7 and 8.
This year, ninth and 10th-graders entered the old Westvale Elementary School, marking the first class of the academy’s new high school.
Outside of the Westvale building, an empty frame stands, giving no indication that a high school has moved into the neighborhood.
The only signal of activity on the campus takes place at the flagpole, where students, called cadets, raise and lower the flag, walking and turning in step as they learn the proper way to treat the American flag.
Dressed in navy blue pants and gray button-up shirts, the students are expected to look “the part” at all times.
A charter school founded on military philosophies, the school encourages discipline and accomplishment through hard work in the rank-and-file style of the U.S. military.
Commandant Robert Guillaume said the school is a public high school, funded by tax dollars, and it accepts any Indiana student.
In order to stay small, the school caps enrollment at 88 students per grade level, he said.
It’s what attracted Alicia O’Neal, a freshman.
With aspirations of going to Harvard University to study medicine, O’Neal craved the personal attention afforded by the small campus, but also enjoys the military-themed educational philosophy.
“I like the military experience, the order and discipline. The teachers, they push you and want you to go further.”
The high school just got its very own football team, led by quarterback Max Sechler, 15.
Sechler’s family drives him from Elwood each day because he wants a career in the military one day.
Sechler, and all students at the school, greet the commandant by shooting out of their seats, standing at attention every time he walks in the room.
It’s the sort of thing one finds on an Army base, not typically at a public school.
The military lifestyle isn’t something student Jadelyn Mier was accustomed to, but she’s decided its worth the trade-off. “The teachers care more here,” she said.
Mier is happy to be getting an education, but said she also enjoys being the very first high school class in the school’s history.
“It’s like we’re making history ourselves.”
Contact Brandi Watters 640-4847, brandi.watters@heraldbulletin.com
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