Coos News

When Kayla Crook first stepped into the role of principal of Destinations Academy and the administrator overseeing alternative education programs for Coos Bay Public Schools, she realized she had found the space where she could make a positive impact for the students of her district. Her years working in special education gave her the flexibility needed to see every student individually and create pathways that meet the students where they are at.

Crook traces her calling back to childhood. “My path to education actually began as a kindergartener. I had a kindergarten teacher named Mr. Miles, who really impressed me and my family with just how caring he was, and from the time I was five, I was going to be an educator of some kind.”

Later, an entry-level role changed her trajectory. “I ended up getting that position, and it was in our behavioral classroom for special education. I didn’t actually know much about special education at the time. And I fell in love with that.”

Destinations Academy today enrolls around 50 students, each working through their own path. Crook explained that the program has shifted away from the old stereotypes. “We created a system of applications and some guardrails around placement into the alternative education setting. Just to make sure that other people weren’t just sending kids. We created an alternative setting that really is a privilege. Students know when they get accepted here that it is conditional to a point. They know that if they’re not making progress and they’re not coming to school, then we have meetings and we have conversations and we have avenues if they are not meeting their plan.”

Students apply to the program, and staff meet with them weekly to check progress. “Destinations Academy is really about building an individual plan for each student. We call them student success plans. The kids are looking at their goals every single week.”

With small class sizes, the staff has been able to build strong connections. “We get to give them a lot of one-to-one attention. We get to give them a lot of grace when things happen. We get to know them at a different level than you can when you have 800 students in your school.”

For Crook, success is best measured in student stories. She recalled one young woman who entered high school withdrawn and uncertain. “She started the year kind of just hiding under my tables. Didn’t say a whole lot… When she was a junior, her confidence had grown a lot and she ended up, you know, speaking in front of 500 people at the state tournament (for speech and debate) and winning in her event and becoming a state champion.”

The results have followed. “When we took over Destinations, we came in at a 29% graduation rate. In one year, we were 54%. In 2024, we were at a 79% graduation rate, and our goal was to be at 80% by 2026.” The graduation numbers at Destinations are just under the state average of 81.3 and more than ten percentage points higher than the average for all of the Coos Bay School District. 

Crook knows the future depends on resources. “Eventually, we’ll hopefully be able to expand more… The national recommendation is a one (instructor) to 10 (student) ratio, and we’re sitting at about one to 15 right now.”

But her long-term vision is clear. “My dream is that we have a fully functioning alternative school that is also tied to work skills through CTE. I’d love to have a CTE building on my property here. I already have a spot picked out.”

Kayla Crook has a vision for what alternative education can be in Coos Bay. Her vision is leading to high student achievement and a growing reputation for her programs. The outcomes of the students at Destinations speak for themselves.