A big biology fan, transgender teenager Avery Bernasconi, 18, is pursuing a dream to cure peanut allergies thanks to One N Ten’s Q High Learning Center.
The center, in partnership with Arizona Virtual Academy, offers lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth an educational opportunity to complete their high school diplomas and graduate.
The school is at the One N Ten Youth Center in downtown Phoenix. The students learn using the K12 high school online program.
“Before Q High, I was worried I would never make it to college,” said Bernasconi, a freshman at Mesa Community College. “A lot of issues were happening with being transgender and getting bullied. My grades suffered immensely.”
Bernasconi is one of four graduates from Q High since the school started in 2012. The school had a total enrollment of 11 students when she graduated in December 2015.
The students enrolled in the program say they left regular school because they were bullied and felt unsafe.
Bernasconi changed schools six times before moving out to Arizona with her father from Missouri and discovering Q High.
“A lot of the schools I went to weren’t transgender friendly,” Bernasconi said. “There were a lot of issues with being transgender, not just with students but teachers and faculty as well.”
Bernasconi said moving to Arizona was a fresh start and a chance for her to move away from the hostile environment she experienced at school.
“There were times when I would walk back from school and people would throw things like rocks at me,” Bernasconi said. “They never really hurt me; it was more annoying, because when people do that every day for a couple of months it wears you down.”
Bernasconi’s breaking point was in eighth grade when she was hospitalized for depression.
“Hiding my gender was a crazy situation,” Bernasconi said. “I thought of it as being in the movie ‘Mulan’ because I was a girl pretending to be a guy just to survive, and on top of that school was hard.”
Bernasconi said she has known since fourth grade that she was meant to be a girl. However, she waited until high school to come out to her family about being transgender.
Bernasconi said her transition to Q High took a bit of adjustment because people were “so flamboyant.” Once she settled in, she realized the other students came from similar situations.
All four students who have graduated from Q High are employed. Three of the four are enrolled in college.
Q High Site Coordinator Ashley Archibald said the interactive teaching style and small classroom setting gives students more support than a regular in-person classroom.
During school days, the teachers facilitate class sessions and give students the option of scheduling one-on-one sessions for additional help and support.
“It is vital that each of the students are receiving the individualized learning experience that will propel them to greatness,” Archibald said.
Archibald monitors and measures the progress of each student in her classes. She also communicates with parents and teachers to help the students reach their academic goals.
Throughout the school year, teachers and other school staff work with students to provide additional tutoring or give students an opportunity to learn concepts through a game.
The students get hands-on experience at the Phoenix Center for the Arts. They have worked with improvisations and ceramics to foster their creativity and keep them engaged.
The blended learning at Q High has helped improve the students’ grade point average.
“Before Q High, it was difficult for me to focus in an environment where I couldn’t learn at my own pace,” said 18-year-old transgender student Adrian Garcia. “With the support from teachers at Q High, I am able to stay on track with my education.”
Garcia, who is graduating in December 2016, said he plans to attend college and pursue his passion for social justice and advocacy. He said that growing up in the state foster care system inspired him to advocate for people who find it hard help themselves.
“As a foster kid, I took on a leadership role by taking people’s ideas and helping integrate them in the community,” Garcia said. “The school has helped me be more active in the community.”
Garcia advocated for policy changes and spoke to foster kids about their human rights at Advocate for Foster Kids Arizona.
Through his experience with the advocacy organization, Garcia hopes to become an attorney.
Archibald said many students don’t reach their potential because of the baggage they carry with them.
“The biggest challenge for the teachers has been wanting to save them all,” Archibald said.
The school has a social worker to work with the students. Teachers have received feedback from parents about the positive influence Q High has had on their family dynamics.
“Students need to know that we believe in them,” Archibald said.
It has been a challenge for the students who don’t know their role in the community to stay in the program.
“I make modifications to keep the students engaged to make them want to come back,” Archibald said.
Since it is based online, Q High has limited resources. For instance, the school doesn’t own a school bus. This makes field trips confined to downtown Phoenix. It can also be difficult for students to commute.
Archibald hopes that an increase in students and graduates will get more students to enroll in the school.
The organization has developed the Youth Education and Success program that provides the students with moral support and guidance. Having a mentor is one of the highlights of the program, students say.
“I came to school to be part of a family and people who were awesome and nice to me,” Garcia said.
The goals of the mentor program include increasing school graduation and college enrollment rates for the students.
There are two students from Q High in the Y.E.S. mentoring programs. Students are paired with community mentors from One N Ten.
Stacey Jay Cavaliere, director of programs at One N Ten, said the impact varies based on the mentor-mentee relationship.
Cavaliere said it was important for the mentors to maintain “close, healthy and supportive relationships” with the students they are paired with. It is central to the success of the program for the relationship between the mentors and mentees to last over one year.
“Mentoring can help youth as they go through challenging life transitions like sexuality and adulthood, including dealing with stressful changes at home,” Cavaliere said.
Friendship was a big part of Bernasconi’s learning experience beyond the classroom. She has built strong relationships with her friends and mentor.
“There isn’t anything I had to hide here, and I didn’t have to worry about being pushed around at lunch or walking home,” Bernasconi said. “When you’re open with people, it’s easier to build meaningful relationships.”
Contact the reporter at btefu@asu.edu.
