Report 2: Student Characteristics and Outcomes

Recovery Academy Students’ Characteristics and Outcomes 2015-22

This is the second of related short reports that describe how recovery schools are an evidence-based approach to supporting young people in graduating from high school and building a substance-free lifestyle. Recovery schools’ primary goal is to educate students working a recovery program in a sober environment. Staff members typically include substance use counselors, teachers and mental health professionals. i – source

Together these short reports show the value of providing substance-free learning spaces that are tailored for young people.

In studies of youth who are in treatment for substance use, students attending recovery schools had substantially higher rates of graduation and sobriety than those attending other high schools.

Who Attended the Seattle Interagency Recovery Academy?

In this report, we share data about the 137 students who attended the Recovery Academy
for at least 90 days between Fall 2015 and Spring 2022. ii – source

Demographics and Characteristics

A majority of Recovery Academy students were male (55%) and Black, Indigenous or People of Color (53%). Few students (4%) were English Language Learners. When comparing the student population to 2021-22 school district numbers, the breakdowns between white and BIPOC students
are similar. iii – source

FIGURE 1: Recovery Academy Racial and Ethnic Breakdown, 2015-2022 (N=137)

Students can enroll in the Recovery Academy at any point during their high school career. Between 28 and 48 students attended the Recovery Academy for at least 90 days during each school year. Figure 2 shows the breakdown by grade level.

Note: Many students attended the Recovery Academy for more than one year, so the same student may be included in 2016 and 2017, for example.

Students at the Recovery Academy had substantially higher rates of disability and homelessness or transitional living than their peers across the school district. Over one in three had an Individualized Education Plan. Close to one in five students received McKinney-Vento services for students experiencing homelessness or transitional living situations (see Figure 3).

While fewer than half (43%) of students completed residential substance use treatment prior to enrollment, an additional 18% completed treatment when they attended the Recovery Academy.

FIGURE 2: The Majority of Recovery Academy Students were Juniors or Seniors (N=268)

Figure 3: Comparison of Students Attending the Recovery Academy and Seattle Public Schools (N=137) iv – source

What are the Outcomes of Recovery School Students?

National Data

While studies show the positive effects of recovery schools, there are currently only 44 recovery high schools across the U.S. v – source

One study of ten substance use treatment programs in three states compared student outcomes of those attending recovery schools with other high schools.

Post treatment, national data about recovery school students’ high school graduation rates were 61% as compared to 39% for other youth. Over one-third (35%) of the recovery school students reported they were abstinent from drugs and alcohol for one year while the sobriety rate for those not attending recovery schools was one in eight (12%). vi – source

Washington and Seattle Data

In 2013, the Washington Department of Social and Human Services reported that only 25% of young people who received publicly funded substance use disorder treatment graduated from high school. vii – source

For students with co-occurring mental health disorders, the number dropped to 17%. (see Figure 4)

FIGURE 4: 25% of Washington Students with Substance Use Disorder Graduated within Six Years (N=1,757)

This report led the King County Behavioral Health and Recovery Division of the Department of Community and Human Services and Seattle Public Schools to collaborate on establishing a recovery school as part of the Interagency Academy system.

From 2015-2022, 63% of students at the Seattle Recovery Academy have earned, or are working toward, a high school diploma at the school. An additional 18% have transferred to continue schooling elsewhere. (see Figure 5)

FIGURE 5: 63% of Recovery Academy Students Have Earned, or are Working Toward, a High School Diploma at the School (N=137)

More than half (51%) of Recovery Academy students have more than one year of recovery following initial enrollment. viii – source

Data about student substance use demonstrates the power of the Recovery Academy. For a student to be in recovery means that they are building a sober lifestyle in and out of school which involves cultivating connections with others, engaging in prosocial activities, and being a presence in the recovery community.

Summary

Read together, the national research and this summary of student outcomes at Seattle’s Interagency Recovery Academy show the effectiveness of the model. Student perspectives on their time at the school help us understand the power of a drug and alcohol-free place to learn:

“The Recovery High School gave me a place to fit in and find comfort in a sober lifestyle that not many people my age were doing. It gave me an environment where my ideas were valued, and my problems met with solutions rather than dismissal.”

References

i Association of Recovery Schools Website (no date).

ii Student data was provided by both the Seattle Public Schools Research Office and the Recovery School staff. We report results for students when there are more than ten students in a category. A total of 165 students attended the school during this time.

iii Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (2022). Washington State Report Card.

In Seattle, Asian students make up 13%, Black/African American Students make up 15%, Latinx student make up 13%, multiracial students make up 12%, White students make up 46% and other groups make up 1%. 13% of students are English Language Learners

iv Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (2022). Washington State Report Card.

v Association of Recovery Schools Website (no date).

vi Weimer, D.L., Moberg, P., Falon French, E. E., et al. (2019) Net Benefits of Recovery High Schools: Higher Cost but Increased Sobriety and Increased Probability of High School Graduation. Journal of Mental Health Policy Economics. 22(3): 109–120

vii Kohlenberg, E., Lucenko, B., Mancuso, D., et al. (2013). Behavioral Health Needs and School Success: Youth with Mental Health and Substance Abuse Problems are at Risk for Poor High School Performance. Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.

viii The recovery status of 22% of the students is unknown.

Suggested Citation: Loeb, H., San Nicolas, O., Wyatt, J. G. & Raya-Carlton, P. (2023). Seattle Public Schools’ Interagency Recovery Academy Brief Series: Recovery Academy Students’ Characteristics and Outcomes: 2015-2022. Renton, WA: Puget Sound Education Service District Strategy, Evaluation and Learning Department and Seattle, WA: King County Department of Community and Human Services, Behavioral Health and Recovery Division.