Report 2: Student Characteristics and Outcomes

Recovery Campus: Students’ Characteristics and Outcomes 2015-22

This is the second of three 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 provide a safe and sober environment where young people in recovery pursue their academic and career goals. Staff members typically include substance use counselors, teachers and mental health professionals. i – source Together, the three briefs show the value of recovery high schools for youth in recovery from substance use and co-occurring mental health disorders.

Students in recovery from substance use disorder who attended recovery high schools had substantially higher rates of graduation and sobriety than those attending other high schools.

Who Attended the Seattle Interagency Recovery Campus?

In this report, we share data about the 190 students who attended the Seattle Public Schools (SPS) Interagency Recovery Campus for at least 90 days between Fall 2015 and Spring 2025.

Demographics and Characteristics

Demographics and Characteristics

Figure 1 details the racial and ethnic background of Recovery Campus students. The breakdown of Recovery Campus students as compared with SPS students is as follows: White students (53% Recovery Campus, 45% SPS), Latinx or Hispanic students (19% Recovery Campus, 15% SPS), Multiracial (13% for both), Black students (9% Recovery Campus, 14% SPS), and other groups including Asian, Pacific Islander, and Native American (6% Recovery Campus, 13% SPS).

Data chart about Recovery Campus Racial and Ethnic Breakdown, 2015-2025 (N=190)
white 53%, Latinx or Hispanic 19%, Multiracial 13%, Black 9%, Other group: American Indian, Asian, Pacific Islander 6% — FIGURE 1: Recovery Campus Racial and Ethnic Breakdown, 2015-2025 (N=190)

Students can enroll in the Recovery Campus at any point during their high school career. Between 25 and 50 students attended the Recovery Campus for at least 90 days during each school year. The Recovery Campus enrolls an average of 37 students per year. Figure 2 shows the breakdown by grade level.

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

Students at the Recovery Campus had substantially higher rates of homelessness or transitional living, and disability than their peers across the school district. Fifteen percent of Recovery Campus students received McKinney- Vento services for students experiencing homelessness or transitional living situations, compared with 4% of district students. Over one in three (35%) Recovery Campus students had an Individualized Education Plan compared with 18% of students in the district (see Figure 3).

Figure 2: Recovery Campus Grade Level Breakdown 2015-2025 (N=190)
2015-16, 31 students 9th 23%, 11th & 12th 77%
2016-2017, 25 students 9th & 10th 24%, 11th & 12th 76%
2017-18, 33 students, 9th & 10th 36%, 11th & 12th 64%
2018-19, 33 students, 9th & 10th 39%, 11th & 12th 64%
2019-20, 37 students, 9th & 10th 27%, 11th & 12th 73%
2020-21, 31 students, 9th & 10th 10%, 11th & 12th 90%
2021-22, 40 students, 9th & 10th 33%, 11th & 12th 68%
2022-23, 40 students, 9th & 10th 27%, 11th & 12th 73%
2023-24, 50 students, 9th & 10th 14%, 11th & 12th 86%
2024-25, 33 students, 9th & 10th 18%, 11th & 12th 82% — Figure 3: Comparison of Students Attending the Recovery School and Seattle Public Schools (N=93).

Figure 3: Comparison of Students Attending the Recovery Campus and Seattle Public Schools (N=190)

Students receiving McKinney-Vento Services
4% Seattle Public Schools 2024-25
15% Recovery Campus 2015-25

Students receiving an IEP
18% Seattle Public Schools 2024-25
35% Recovery Campus 2015-25 — Figure 3: Comparison of Students Attending the Recovery Campus 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 only approximately 40 recovery high schools across the U.S. 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%).

Washington and Seattle Data

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. 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)

25% Substance Use Disorder and Co-Occuring Disorder
17% Substance Use Disorder — 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 2015–2025, 67% of students at the Seattle Interagency Recovery Campus have earned, or are working toward, a high school diploma in the program. An additional 15% have transferred to continue schooling elsewhere. (see Figure 5)

Figure 5: 67% of Recovery Campus Students Have Earned, or are Working Toward, a High School Diploma (N=190)
Graduated 51%
Continuing 16%
Transfer to School Inside or Outside of Seattle 15%
Other: Dropout, No Show, or Age Out 18%

Note: Students enrolled for more than 90 days between 2015-2025 — FIGURE 5: 67% of Recovery Campus Students Have Earned, or are Working Toward, a High School Diploma at the School (N=137)

More than half (53%) of Recovery Campus students have more than one year of recovery following initial enrollment.

Data about student substance use demonstrates the power of the Recovery Campus. 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 sober peers, participating in prosocial activities, and engaging with the recovery community.

Summary

Read together, the national research and this summary of student outcomes at Seattle’s Interagency Recovery Campus 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 Campus Brief Series: Recovery Campus 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.