Cougar OPS Helps NRWHS Students Succeed

The Cougar OPS program at North Rose-Wolcott High School has helped dozens of students improve their grades and graduate on time through tutoring, credit recovery, and help with study skills.

Cougar OPS, formerly known as the Alternative Learning Center, provides various services to help students succeed in school. OPS stands for “Opportunities for Personal Success,” and staff focus on helping each individual student accomplish their own personal definition of success.

“We meet students where they are, as they are. We appreciate and respect student background,” said Mark Mathews, Cougar OPS Principal. “Cougar OPS empowers students to overcome obstacles that may prevent them from graduating with their peers by supporting academic, social-emotional, and job-related skills.”

Cougar OPS provides tutoring services for students who are suspended for five or more days, experiencing medical or other challenges preventing them from physically attending school, or awaiting out-of-district special education placements. The program also provides credit recovery and progress monitoring for juniors and seniors who have fallen behind in order to get them back on track. Each student receives an individualized graduation plan, and various methods are used to recover course credit and to help students stay on track in their current classes.

Cougar OPS also provides social-emotional and mindfulness lessons, access to out-of-district resources and services, and job search and training support. Students are encouraged to form supportive connections with adults at school.

Landon Winter, a 2024 NRW graduate, credits the Cougar OPS program with giving him the tools to graduate on time and pursue a career after high school. After starting Cougar OPS in his junior year, he said the encouragement of program staff helped him improve his grades and complete his work on time.

“They offer a lot of help to make sure people are able to pass and graduate,” Winter said. “The environment is really great, too.”

Before graduation, Winter secured an employment offer from a welding company, where he would receive on-the-job training. “I’m looking forward to building a career for myself,” he said.

In the 2023-24 school year, Cougar OPS broadened its reach and implemented the Resource Center for 9th and 10th grade students. During their study hall, students assigned to the Resource Center work on the executive function and organizational skills needed to be successful in high school. The program provides an environment for them to feel supported not only academically, but emotionally – which is especially important for those just beginning high school.

Sophomore Kelly Cole began attending the Resource Center in her freshman year and says it helped her adjust to high school by providing a safe place to become comfortable in a new environment.

“At the beginning of the year I was always skipping class, never checking in, never doing any of my work,” she said. By the end of her freshman year, Cole was passing her classes and completing all of her assignments. She says Cougar OPS provided a supportive space where she felt respected and could receive the help she needed.

“It’s helped quite a bit knowing I have this room and these adults to help me when I need the support,” she said. “It helped me a lot.”

Learn more about the Cougar OPS program at www.nrwcs.org/cougarops.