The Memorial Options Center in Euclid is celebrating another milestone in its short history. Its Panther Academy, which had been running out of Euclid High School for over 12 years, is now in its third year in continuous operation out of the Euclid City Schools-Memorial Options Center, 22800 Fox Ave. The Panther Academy is designed for high school students who “struggle to meet behavioral expectations in the traditional school setting,” according to a release from Euclid Schools. According to Jason Coleman, the principal of Memorial Options Center, having the program operate out of this center gives students more access to services they might not have had at the high school. Coleman said that students who are administratively placed in the program continue their high school classes through their Edgenuity eLearning services to finish their academic year. Teachers who normally operate out of the high school also come to the Memorial Options Center, where the smaller classroom size can give more options for one-on-one education opportunities with students. “I think a big part of it is you are changing their environment. You might notice, walking around here, that there are no bells here,” Coleman said. “That has been one of the big things since I’ve been in the administration, I’m very anti-bell, I don’t like the chaos and the disruption of it. “(The Memorial Options Center) is just a very calm environment,” he said. “Kids are able to kind of let their guard down. They are able to get those supports and the kind of one-on-one attention that they often need. And then they can start working their way towards being successful and staying on track towards graduation.” He said that when the program operated out of the high school, it ran only after school hours and was allocated a small portion of the building. The program was also purely academic; it did not provide students with availability to see therapists or other specialists, whereas now those services are only a few doors, or a hallway, away. “These are students who are again at risk, whether it is for academics, behavior, attendance,” Coleman said. “Some of these students are sent over here in lieu of expulsion. So students who get into significant trouble at the high school are given a real, serious, second chance and placed over in the Panther Academy program, where they can maintain that academic progress. “They can get support from intervention specialists, from our wraparound services with Making a Difference Consulting, working with our therapists, our mental health professionals, counselors, mentors,” he added. “Really helping make sure these kids stay on track academically and working towards graduation but also while reserving some of those social-emotional interventions that they need.” For the students, Coleman said, the difference between having services available and close to them is clear. Many of the students are able to either return to the classroom or find other education opportunities at the center, expanding their connections to the community. That has been seen to reduce crime and increase social connections, a lack of which has been seen to be a leading cause in antisocial behavior. He said those community connections — and kids actually wanting to go to school — are good indicators that a student’s behavior outside of school might change, as well, which, in his view, benefits everyone in the city. Information on Euclid City Schools Memorial Options Center programs can be found at euclidschools.org/o/eoc.