News Photo by Temi Fadayomi Alcona Community Schools Superintendent Dan O’Connor stands in front of the future Claw Academy building across from Alcona Community Schools in Lincoln on Thursday.

LINCOLN — Alcona Community Schools is set to open up its new alternate education institution, Claw Academy, this fall.

“We wanted to find an alternative setting for students who don’t feel comfortable in the traditional K-12 setting, specifically 9-12,” Alcona Community Schools Superintendent Dan O’Connor said about the inspiration for Claw Academy.

Claw Academy will primarily use an online class structure with two mentors, Joy Bullis and Shelly Hoffmeyer, acting as student guides. In a press release last week, the district said that a significant focus of Claw Academy will be work-based learning or career and technical education with students being encouraged to have either task take up to three hours of their daily schedule.

Despite taking classes in a separate building, Claw Academy students are still considered part of Alcona Community Schools, meaning they will still have access to the same breakfast and lunch programs provided to the other students, as well as other school programs like sports or clubs.

Claw Academy students would also be able to take any career and technical ed classes that are being offered in the school’s main building if they are of interest.

“We did not (have) a separate school code for this academy,” O’Connor said about Claw Academy. “It’s still underneath our Alcona High School umbrella. Because of that, those students still have access to all the sports, clubs, therapy and any other support services.”

There are more than 10 students currently enrolled in Claw Academy and classes are expected to start in the fall. There are still renovations that need to be made to the building before it is ready for classes, but these renovations are planned to take place over the summer.

“We already have nearly a dozen students already signed up,” O’Connor said. We also have a few others on the fringe, including a few who were struggling the last couple of years and are coming back as part of this program.”

O’Connor is hopeful that with Claw Academy, the school can do a better job of assisting those in the Alcona community and providing them with a better future.

“The goal is taking care of those that live in our community,” O’Connor said about his vision for Claw Academy moving forward. “We knew we weren’t quite meeting the needs of some of our students in the traditional setting, so we decided to get creative and try something different.”