Hope Academy meets needs of student on the margins

By JESSICA HARDIN

jhardin@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

In ninth grade, Kimberly Clinkscale was distracted by chaos at home until a teacher noticed she was struggling.

“She helped me all the way through college to help me to get my associate’s degree in early childhood development. ... I really believe I’m here because of that teacher,” Clinkscale said.

As director of Hope Academy for Autism on Lakeview Avenue on the West Side, Clinkscale wants to advocate for her students like her mentor advocated for her.

Clinkscale founded Hope Academy as a preschool in 1999 and opened a high school in Youngstown in 2011. Ninety-five percent of the children who attend the school have an autism diagnosis.

She said that Hope Academy is different from its peers – Rich Center for Autism and Potential Development Inc. – in that it seeks to serve autistic children on the margins.

“Kids have been kicked out of probably every school in the district before they come here. We get the kids that nobody wants,” Clinkscale said.

School staff focuses on meeting the unique needs of students.

“We have different types of children, and they learn differently. Our one student can’t really deal with noise, so he has on headphones,” Clinkscale said.

Sam Moffie, a teacher at Hope Academy, said this approach to teaching includes getting to know students and understand their behavior.

“What I’ve learned is the hoodie is a suit of armor. It’s protecting coating,” Moffie said.

And when kids retreat? “Don’t bug ’em,” Moffie said

In addition to accommodating students’ needs, Clinkscale and her staff look for the root of concerning behavior.

“Seeing how sometimes the schools operate, sometimes we don’t really try to dig in a little deeper and see what’s going on with that child. ... The first thing I do when I see a child is troubled is try to find what’s wrong in the home. I do a home visit,” Clinkscale said.

She brought up the example of children with poor hygiene.

“You have a child that comes in that smells. No one wants to touch them. No one wants to give them a hug, but it’s not that child’s fault. I don’t care if I got on all white. They want to grab me and hold me? OK. I’m going to help that child, help that parent, see if there’s running water at home, see if there’s food. I’m going to go deeper,” Clinkscale said.

When students graduate from Hope Academy, they have the opportunity to enter a program at Shepherd of All God’s Children, which teaches life skills to young adults up to age 23.

“They go to grocery stores. They learn all the life skills they need: transportation, how to cross the street, how to shop and how to cook with an air fryer,” said life-skills teacher Allison Smith.

Given the challenges meeting her students’ diverse needs, Clinkscale credits her ability to relate to students with her success.

“When you’ve been through certain things they’ve been through, you can relate. I fit in with all of these kids,” Clinkscale added.