Business and public schools forge an historic link. The School's roots were planted with the Chamber of Commerce's "School to Work Transition" program at three separate Providence high schools, Hope, Mount Pleasant and Central. That program ran from 1991 to 1994. As the programs showed some success with smaller learning units and more intervention, they joined in 1995 to become a separate school dedicated to reducing the dropout rate among high-risk urban students and offering them after-school opportunities. Counselors specifically sought out students in danger of dropping out but who had a sense of commitment to changing their future. Four teachers and three Chamber counselors working with the first class of 95 students embodied the ideas of teachers, parents, mentors, private sector business professionals, advisors and other educators working to establish the school. In September 1996 Textron partenered with the school and donated $325,000 toward supporting the faculty and program. It is the single largest corporate gift the Providence school system has received. Each year our graduates have gone on to college, jobs and sometimes the military. We believed students would succeed in a small, nurturing environment that encourages and requires maximum effort. The result? Attendance, grades and graduation rates are up dramatically from what they were at the bigger schools.