Lynka Guadalupe was about a year and a half from graduating from one of Boston鈥檚 oldest high schools when she learned she was pregnant. 

She liked life as a student and at first she thought she could juggle pregnancy and schoolwork. She soon realized, however, that navigating the large campus was a lot more work than she鈥檇 expected. 

鈥淚 was just drained in general,鈥� she recalled, with 鈥渁 lot of floors for me to be going up and down.鈥�

But the final straw came when she confided in a trusted staff member, who told her that if she kept the baby she鈥檇 be ruining her life.

Guadalupe dropped out and spent months figuring out her next move. That鈥檚 when she learned about a tiny charter school not far from her home called , or BDEA. Though its model has changed slightly over the years 鈥� the school no longer operates in the evening, as its 20-year-old name implies 鈥� it has become one of the most alternative high schools in the U.S., offering a model of care and personal attention that larger, more comprehensive schools often struggle to create.

For Guadalupe, that meant a program that let her take classes from home two days each week. School administrators worked around her childcare schedule for the other three.

鈥淭hey’re like, 鈥楢s long as you get the work done, that should be the most important thing,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淭hey know where I’m at 鈥�. They don’t treat me like I’m ‘less than.’鈥�

Though it was a long process, Guadalupe graduated in June with her now-4-year-old in tow, one of more than 1,200 young people who have found an alternative path to graduation since BDEA opened in 2004. 

The school comprises three programs, which enroll about 250 students ages 16 to 23. 

It offers streamlined coursework that can be completed faster than in most schools, part of a competency-based curriculum that allows students to quickly show they鈥檝e mastered material. 

Among its keys to success: a nearly obsessive attention to the mental, physical and academic needs of students. BDEA not only offers small classes and free meals but showers, laundry, clothing, free city bus passes and an in-school health clinic. It helps students earn work permits and find jobs. For those experiencing homelessness, it works with a local nonprofit to find housing.

鈥淚f I didn’t have the support,鈥� said Guadalupe, now 23, 鈥淚 think I’d probably still be dropped out and just working my life away with no diploma.鈥�

The support comes mostly in the form of small but important details. BDEA starts its school day at 9 a.m., hours later than most high schools. It also offers a session at 10 a.m.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 our most attended time,鈥� said Alison Hramiec, BDEA鈥檚 head of school and a longtime teacher there. The later start time, she said, allows students to drop off siblings or offspring at daycare or other schools. Most of her students take public transportation, which typically takes more than an hour. 

Class calendars are compressed to allow students to complete more at a faster clip. And the entire system is based on mastery, allowing students to test out of courses so they can check off requirements in days rather than months. The typical student graduates in just under three years.

But the school imposes no time limits on graduation, allowing them to take as little as one course per trimester.

鈥楳y phone number hasn鈥檛 changed in 24 years鈥�

Originally serving students who鈥檇 dropped out to become 鈥渢hird shift鈥� workers, punching a time clock from midnight to 8 a.m., BDEA鈥檚 original class schedule allowed students to leave work, sleep through the afternoon and attend evening classes before their next shift. 

But over time, most young people grabbed afternoon shifts, creating a need for a more robust morning program. It also deepened its relationship to graduates, many of whom take extra time to decide on college or a career.

鈥漌e’re reaching out to those students on a regular basis and saying, 鈥業 know you’re working as a cashier right now at CVS, but what do you think in September you really might like to be doing?鈥� said Director of Postgraduate Planning Margaret Samp.

She began working as a literacy specialist at BDEA at its founding, 24 years ago. Her background was in drama and English as a Second Language, and she admitted that she loves her current title 鈥渂ecause it sounds like everybody’s going to graduate school.鈥�

Even graduates who return years later needing help with college or career dreams aren鈥檛 turned away. As if illustrating BDEA鈥檚 consistency in students鈥� lives, she added, 鈥淢y phone number hasn’t changed in 24 years.鈥�

From credo to memoir

One month each year, most classes stop and students work on projects based on the competencies they need to meet.

Teachers are also encouraged to collaborate. In one case, humanities teacher Jose Capo Jr. and biology teacher Nilo Ashraf created a course that used superheroes to teach about DNA. The pair challenged students to imagine what would happen if two superheroes reproduced, asking what powers the offspring would share with their parents.

He called the class 鈥渁 creative writing/science class hybrid鈥� that helps them see how their interests intersect with academics. 

鈥淚t’s really about young people feeling empowered to take charge of their lives here,鈥� he said.

Capo often starts his courses by asking students to write a credo. Many struggle with the assignment, telling him, 鈥溾�業 don’t think I have one. I’m just here.鈥� 鈥� And I’m like, 鈥業sn’t that still a code?鈥� And they would just be like 鈥︹�� 鈥� he makes a 鈥渕ind blown鈥� motion with his fingers.

After their credo, Capo guides them through the process of writing a short memoir while reading a sociology textbook that explores 鈥渢he multiple dimensions of the self.鈥� He also assigns chapters from the 1967 memoir Down These Mean Streets by , a Latino writer who grew up poor in New York鈥檚 Spanish Harlem. 

Students write essays exploring which dimension of the self has a stronger hold on them at the moment 鈥� and which they need help bringing into the light.

Hramiec, the head of school, said that sets BDEA apart. 鈥淲e spend a lot of time giving students space to grow emotionally, to learn how to self-regulate, to think about social intelligence.鈥� 

Jill Kantrowitz, the school鈥檚 advancement director, recalled sitting in on the superheroes unit in her first few months at the school. 鈥淚t blew my mind,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he idea is that students can take control of their education.鈥�

That extends to nearly every aspect of the school, from feedback on classes to student achievement. Rather than pushing to pass each class, Kantrowitz noted, students can choose whether they want to simply prove competency or aim for a higher level of mastery. 

That changes the complexion of classes, where 15 students might be working towards different outcomes.

Students are, of course, expected to attend every day, but many face huge challenges. About one in 10 is homeless, with many 鈥渃ouch surfing鈥� and in search of housing, said social worker Rachel Revis. 鈥淲e have students that sleep in parks. We do have students that are in shelters looking for stability. And that was a huge thing, especially after COVID, where families were sort of broken apart.鈥�

On the other hand, BDEA also serves escapees from elite schools who can鈥檛 handle the competitive pressure. 鈥淭hey would say they come here because they’re like, ‘I can actually breathe 鈥� I can be myself.鈥欌��

鈥楢n educational team backing me鈥�

Nearly half of students arrive with either individualized education plans (IEPs) or less restrictive 504 accommodation requirements. And nearly all face difficult family and personal circumstances.

Teachers watch absences closely, calling and texting whenever students don鈥檛 show up. There鈥檚 no harsh punishment for not attending, but if they miss five days in a row, the school turns off their city bus pass and turns to more direct interventions, such as one-on-one meetings, home visits and, if applicable, conversations with family members.

That approach is rare, said Mina Koenig, 22. She enrolled at BDEA after attending the prestigious for a few years. Chronic migraines drove her out of a school that she says didn鈥檛 accommodate her needs 鈥� for one thing, its ubiquitous fluorescent lights never shut off.

Though she earned A鈥檚, Koenig missed a lot of school 鈥� one year, she was absent 160 days and failed several classes.

She expects to graduate from BDEA within a year as she earns more math and science credits. 

Much like her classmate Guadalupe, Koenig said one previous roadblock was having a physical condition that severely limited her, with teachers 鈥渕aking no real effort to cross that barrier and understand,鈥� despite an IEP.

At BDEA, she said, teachers are 鈥渧ery focused on having an individual connection with each and every one of their students鈥� 鈥� very similar to her medical team of doctors and neurologists. 鈥淗ere, I feel 鈥� that I have an educational team backing me.鈥�

For her part, Koenig said her migraines have been improving. After she graduates, she鈥檚 thinking about studying to be a dietitian. She plans to attend Bunker Hill Community College and 鈥渇igure it out while I’m there.鈥�

BDEA has already given her the freedom to study diet and nutrition, offering a gardening project as well as botany and agriculture courses. 鈥淚t’s really nice that the school is supporting me with things that are other than just math worksheets,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey’ve actually set me up for life.鈥�