Photos by Jared Soares | The Roanoke Times

Last week, workers renovate the roof of Forest Park Academy, a project that's part of a $2.3 million push to fix the roofs at three Roanoke schools. The academy, which will be housed in a former elementary school, has about 230 students signed up to attend.

Mike Stoner, an employee of the Roanoke school system, arranges furniture in a classroom at Forest Park Academy. The 79-year-old building has undergone an extensive renovation estimated at $1.5 million.

Roanoke schools Superintendent Rita Bishop (center) speaks with teachers of the soon-to-open Forest Park Academy.

Roanoke's new Forest Park Academy has yet to open, but Della Gilliam is already convinced it will be a success.

Gilliam gave 37 years to Roanoke schools but came out of retirement recently to take on one final challenge: helping overage middle and high school students complete high school and graduate with a diploma.

It's a mission that drives the roughly two dozen teachers and staff of the city's newest experiment in education: targeting students at risk of dropping out. The experiment kicks off on the first day of school Tuesday.

"Once you find out you've got a calling, a love for seeing students succeed, that to me can take a student who has seen failure and disappointment and pull them up," said Gilliam, a seventh- and eighth-grade teacher.

Principal Eric Anderson said about 230 students have signed up to attend the school, which has undergone an extensive renovation estimated at $1.5 million. Most are high school students, he said, reflecting the intense push to recruit juniors and seniors, the students most likely to earn a diploma. The school system has set a target of graduating 100 students from the academy this year.

The academy is the brainchild of Superintendent Rita Bishop, who opened a similar school in Lancaster, Pa., when she was superintendent there. In Roanoke, it sparked weeks of controversy when it became clear that school officials planned to close Forest Park Elementary School and use the 79-year-old building on Melrose Avenue Northwest for the academy.

Elementary school parents said the school system was intentionally closing a majority-black school and filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education. That complaint is still under investigation, according to Jim Bradshaw, a spokesman for the department.

"It's an uphill battle right now," said LeVita Washington, the mother of a child at the old Forest Park Elementary School who fought last spring to save the school.

Bishop said she understood the parents' concerns and asked for their patience while insisting she had the best interests of all city school students in mind.

"I just ask them to understand," she said. "It is not going to be seamless, we will have our fights over there. Issues will emerge.

"Everybody brings their baggage with them regardless of where they go," she added. "These are good kids. They don't have discipline issues, they just have school issues."

For now, the school will be open during regular school hours, but officials hope to add an evening session to cater to working students. Some students may spend a year at the academy while others may pick up enough credits to go back to their regular schools within months.

Along with using traditional classrooms, the school will let students catch up through a computer program that promises to quickly teach them enough to earn school credits.

Jerel Rhodes, the program's guidance counselor, will meet with all the students individually to give them a sense of "ownership" in the school. "Once you get them hooked, then you can pour into them," he said.

Anderson said the school received lists of eligible students from middle and high school principals in the city. Then outreach workers contacted families and told them about the program. But word of mouth has also brought students to the school.

"I think our students recognize that this is the best deal in town," he said in a recent interview in his office. "In some cases they've often been lost in the classroom, but here they're told that we will know where they are at all times."

The school has been recruiting veteran teachers from around the school system to staff the academy, which will have a 12-to-1 student-teacher ratio in middle school and 16-to-1 in high school, Anderson said.

As he spoke, painters and contractors were working nearby to put the finishing touches on the building. The smell of fresh paint hung in the air, and cardboard computer boxes were stacked against the walls. Workers have been setting up new computer labs, refinishing walls, laying carpet and updating the bathrooms to make them more suitable for older students. Officials decided to keep the building's ornate light fixtures.

With all the excitement and the rapid changes in the school, Anderson said he hopes students will be able to keep their focus on their studies.

"If there is a worry, it's that we will all stay on the same page," he said. "Making sure that students are not getting caught in the hype of a new program but stay focused on their initial goal."