e walks with a silver Macbook balanced on one hand and an attached, portable electric keyboard in the other. He pauses

              the track that he has been sampling and sits down in the cafeteria.

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Just over a month since his first day in P.L.A.C.E., Positive Learning And Creative Education, senior Cartie’ Braggs feels he is home in the small building off Reynolds Road that only allows 76 students at full capacity. He can walk into class and know that he has friends, all while focusing on what he came for: his credits and an early-graduate diploma.

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Advanced Topics math teacher Tracye Bullock recommended Braggs for the school’s alternative education program, but he did not want to come to P.L.A.C.E. The building sits tucked next to the school’s welding shop, and it may only be a two-minute drive down Reynolds, but he did not fit the “bad kid” stereotype that is often assumed of the students in the temporary schooling program. But, if Braggs was to succeed in the classroom, he needed a different learning environment where he could receive more attention from the teachers and peers could see who he really is rather than make assumptions.

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“When you get to meet the people [at P.L.A.C.E.], they open up to you,” Braggs said. “They’re real. They’re genuine. People will like you just by your presence. It’s a better place over here. It’s all peace, all love.”

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In a smaller setting, his teachers can individualize his learning experience. Music runs in his family, such as with his grandfather, an organ player and master pianist. So, to help Braggs pursue music production and maintain that legacy, Tim Hall, administrator and founder of P.L.A.C.E., made sure Braggs had a Mac to work on while at school. He is able to use it as a tool to help with other projects, such as a documentary for P.L.A.C.E., which is in the planning stages.

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“The teachers are going to make sure you succeed,” Braggs said.

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Some students are comfortable at P.L.A.C.E. and have chosen to stay in alternative education for several years.

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In October of her sophomore year, Madison Fallis came to P.L.A.C.E., and she is still here as a senior. Her anxiety prevents her from wanting to return to the main campus, but she is not without opportunities.

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Fallis wanted to challenge herself by taking a class outside of the campus, so every day, she goes to the Culinary Arts program at Pulaski Technical College, where on “Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, we get to learn how to do our knife cuts.”

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She plans on getting a teaching degree and using the skills she learns to one day teach special needs kids how to cook.

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“Success story.” Hall uses this phrase to describe the majority of the students who come through P.L.A.C.E., because that is how he views their academic journeys.

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In the main hallway, nineteen paper diplomas are pinned to the wall. They are not official, just symbolic of seniors from the 2017 graduating class who would not have graduated if not for the unique learning experience they received at P.L.A.C.E.

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The students have more direct access to teachers, and the classes focus on four main courses: math, science, English and history.

Though the school has a reputation for being the place where the “bad kids” are sent, the majority of students are actually recommended because of grades or because they need a more structured environment to focus on school. They want their education but need the information presented in a different way. Hall knows there is not much that sets the students apart from those on the main campus.

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“Every student on the Bryant campus is ‘at risk,’” Hall said. “One thing can happen, and it throws your whole equilibrium off of your life. The kids at P.L.A.C.E. are at risk of failing, at risk of dropping out of school, some are at risk of addictions. These students get so far behind that in their mind, they can’t catch up, and it’s just easier to quit.”

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Alternative education history teacher Lauren Brewer chose to work at P.L.A.C.E. as her first job. She values the smaller setting and the impact that hands-on learning can have on a student’s success.

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This year is the first time that all teachers are returning staff members. Previously, many teachers would cycle out of the positions and spend no more than a year at P.L.A.C.E.

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“At main campus, you have to spend more time going over the basics and not getting to know who our artists are, who likes to build things, who likes to do written assignments,” Brewer said. “One student taught us a historical game, so we went outside and played it. It puts choice in [their learning], and that expression adds to their knowledge.”

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The students who are recommended for P.L.A.C.E. because of disciplinary reasons are often able to refocus on school without the distraction of others.

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Senior Hannah Watts arrived at P.L.A.C.E. after she was expelled from the main campus. Since being there, she has stayed out of trouble and gotten more work done than possible before.

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“At main campus, I felt like I was one out of a million,” Watts said. “It was like a pile of ants. I feel protected here.”

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It was Hall’s choice to invest his time into P.L.A.C.E., and he wants the community to see the program as the encouraging safe-haven that he has worked to create.

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“Just the other day, I had a parent start crying when they found out their kid was going to P.L.A.C.E., but it’s for kids who learn in a different way,” Hall said. “They’re successful for the first time in their life.”