Norwich — Every year, a dozen or so Norwich Free Academy seniors “disappear” from school tracking records, falling too short of the required earned credits to graduate or catch up through summer school but not officially dropping out of school.

Often, NFA officials said, the students tell their guidance counselors they plan to attend adult education, take the General Educational Development (GED) exam or enroll in Job Corps — a state Department of Labor education and job training program.

At the end of the 2013-14 school year, 16 NFA seniors failed to graduate, and in 2014-15, about 15 students fell short of graduation credit requirements.

“Did they (enroll in other programs)? We don't know. We have to take their word for it,” NFA Bradlaw House Principal Bryant Sheldon told the NFA Board of Trustees on Tuesday.

Sheldon and NFA night school director Roy Wentworth outlined for trustees a new program launched at the start of this school year called Alternative Pathway to Success.

APS is an effort to keep some of those seniors in school and motivated to complete their high school education sometime afterward.

APS now has eight students who entered their senior year with a range of nine to 12 high school credits – well short of the 22 credits needed to graduate in June.

Summer school offers only a maximum of two credits, and staying back to repeat a senior year would only add a maximum of seven more credits.

And night school is for seniors who are just a few credits behind but who are “on track” to graduate in June, Sheldon said.

The APS students attend classes Monday through Thursday starting at 3 p.m. rather than during the regular school day, but are eligible to participate in all senior class activities and programs, Sheldon said.

Students take history, English, math and science, have a half hour dinner — funded through the free and reduced lunch program — and will have a class in GED preparation through an online program.

They also will have lessons in resume writing, job interviewing and career preparation.

APS students can earn six credits if they remain in the program all year and pass all classes, Sheldon said.

Those credits would reduce the number of adult education classes they would need to earn a high school credit diploma or would help them to take the new, more difficult GED exam, Sheldon said.

The students —seven from Norwich and one from Windham —are covered under regular tuition paid by their hometowns, and NFA provides transportation for the Norwich students.

The Windham student has a ride to school, Sheldon said.

NFA Head of School David Klein told the Board of Trustees he plans to ask the privately funded NFA Foundation at its Sept. 29 meeting for a $50,000 grant to cover costs of the program for the first year, including staff salaries, supplies and a case manager if any of the students are in special education programs.

Sheldon, fellow NFA building principals, NFA night school director Roy Wentworth, Director of Student Affairs John Iovino and school psychologist Mykel-Bridget Czaja designed the program prior to the start of the school year.

“This keeps them in an educational setting,” Sheldon told the NFA board. “It helps build the transition to a post-secondary program.”

c.bessette@theday.com

Twitter: @Bessettetheday