News

LAWRENCE — Phoenix Academy Lawrence held its fifth graduation Thursday night, and celebrated 25 graduates.

Phoenix Academy Lawrence is an in-district public high school operated by the Phoenix Charter Academy Network under a collaborative agreement with Lawrence Public Schools. The school, which opened in Lawrence in August 2012, takes students who have not succeeded in traditional school settings and focuses on putting them on the path to finishing high school and continuing on to college.

Phoenix Lawrence currently serves students ages 14-22 through the Phoenix model of rigorous academics and intervention. Phoenix serves a diverse student body with a wide range of experiences, educational backgrounds, and challenges, including high school dropouts, young adults struggling with truancy, new immigrants and teen parents.

Earlier this year, Phoenix Charter Academy Network’s application to transition its existing in-district public high school program in Lawrence to an independent regional Commonwealth charter public high school was approved. The school plans to open as a charter in August 2018 in its current location at 15 Union Street, and will serve up to 225 students from Lawrence, Haverhill, and Methuen.

The Phoenix Network has operated charter public schools in Chelsea since 2006 and Springfield since 2014. Both schools are focused on the same at-risk population of youths.