Here's how a Pueblo online school has grown to be the largest high school in Colorado

It may be hard to believe, but the largest high school in Colorado began in 2007 as an online option for Dolores Huerta Preparatory High School students.

GOAL High School, an online charter high school, enters its 16th year expecting the enrollment of about 6,000 students. GOAL has nearly 40 drop-in centers located inside shopping centers and standalone buildings throughout Colorado. Attendance at drop-in centers is not required, but students often visit them for social interaction, academic assistance and food.

"We added a new site in fall this fall in Florence because our Canon City site was so large and we learned that quite a few of our students were actually driving from Florence to visit the site," GOAL CEO Constance Jones said.

Before adding a new drop-in center, the rule of thumb GOAL uses is 50 students: If there are 50 GOAL students within a city, town or neighborhood, school administrators will begin the search for a nearby property to house a drop-in center.

GOAL's first drop-in center location was inside the Pueblo Mall

Jason Hochevar and his wife Jessica are among GOAL's longest serving employees. Jason is principal of the school's Southern Region, which includes drop-in center locations from Cortez to Downtown Pueblo. Jessica is assistant principal at the Pueblo Mall and La Junta locations.

Jessica started as a math teacher at the Pueblo Mall location, GOAL's first drop-in center site. She taught about 35 students while working in a small room near The Children's Place clothing store. GOAL later relocated its Pueblo Mall drop-in center to the former Tilt Arcade, where it remains today.

Jason was a math teacher at DHPH who became fully involved with GOAL in 2009, when the online school became its own entity separate from the high school.

"GOAL exists because when you're in a classroom, you have to teach to the middle... There's kids that are really advanced and could move way faster, but you can't address them properly. There's kids who can't quite keep up, you can't quite address them sufficiently," Jason said.

GOAL seeks to serve students from all walks of life

As a designated Alternative Education Campus (AEC), at least 90% of the students GOAL serves are considered "high risk" by the Colorado Department of Education.

High risk students include, but are not limited to, those who have previously dropped out of high school, have a history of suspension, are teen parents, or have a parent that is incarcerated. Others may have lost a close family member, endured bullying at their previous school or simply want a more flexible schedule than traditional high schools allow.

Attendance at GOAL has grown exponentially over the years. In the 2008-09 school year, there were only 350 students and two drop-in centers — the Pueblo Mall and Westminster sites.

"Every student who enrolls at GOAL is making the choice to GOAL," said Jill Toussaint, chief academic officer at GOAL. "I think that growth alone shows how many kids in our state need to finish high school... There's a lot of students out there that, for whatever reason, are looking for a different way to be educated."

Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at JBartolo@gannett.com. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo-born online school is the largest high school in Colorado