On the lawn in front of Flathead High School Wednesday, a group of 10 students sat in a circle with teacher Emily Doepke as she talked about coping skills — something any teenager would benefit from.

Discussions on topics such as coping skills or engaging in team building activities are part of an average day in the Promise Academy, a new class at Flathead.

Doepke was hired to teach the semester class through a grant from the Montana Academy in Marion where she taught five years ago.

“The Promise Academy is designed off of a philosophy of emotional growth curriculum and academic support and healthy relationships with peers and with teachers,” Doepke said. “We are creating an open forum for kids to feel safe and comfortable to talk about things going on with them.”

In the first year, the class size was kept small to allow Doepke to create curriculum tailored to student needs and provide individualized attention.

“We focused solely on team-building activities and trust-building activities in the beginning,” Doepke said. “Now we’re moving onto self-awareness in school and also just emotional awareness and emotional intelligence.”

Students considered for the program have demonstrated a desire to succeed and have few absences, but for either school- or home-related reasons have fallen behind academically, according to Doepke and Flathead High School Principal Peter Fusaro.

“We saw kids were behind on credits, or failing classes, but they were coming to school every day. Let’s look at ways we can help these kids and part of that is trust — building relationships with adults, having trust in your peers,” Fusaro said when staffers began discussions about the class last year.

Doepke said she doesn’t define Promise Academy students as “at risk.”

“They have been recommended by teachers as students who showed promise,” Doepke said. “I pitched to them at the beginning of the year, ‘It’s about your potential — where you can go.’”

Juniors Dominic Bronson and Malissa Browning are two examples of students who show potential in school but have had bumps in the road in their personal lives that interfered with school.

“I love school and I’m really good at it, but I just have tons of things going on in my life,” said Bronson, who takes International Baccalaureate classes.

Bronson said during his sophomore year in particular he fell behind juggling school and a job while dealing with a sick parent and living with a family friend.

“I wasn’t able to stay on track at school and deal with all that at the same time,” he said.

Academic accountability and help with homework are large components of the Promise Academy. Bronson said the academy is an extra push motivating him to stay on task and complete assignments.

“We go over grades every week, or missing assignments,” Doepke said. “Every Friday we do an academic accountability group — what went well in classes, what didn’t, where we’re at and how can we support one another. If students need extra time with teachers, they’re allowed to get extra help.”

Browning said that having an adult who cares only makes her strive to do better.

“Miss Doepke really cares about our grades along with how our life is going,” Browning said.

Bronson added, “She knows it’s just not school — there’s also that element of your personal life outside of school.”

Doepke said the main goal of the class is to set students up for success.

“The main goal is to increase academic success and emotional awareness and provide them with a set of tools to help them cope with high school,” Doepke said. “Especially with these kids because they do show promise. We would hate to see them fall through the cracks because they feel like no one’s watching.”

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.