Principal
Welcome to Ralston Academy!
Ralston is an alternative high school program in partnership with Lebanon High School. At Ralston Academy, we are a family where students come first. We cultivate respect, responsibility, and resilience in students so that they can find and develop their best pathway forward. Our staff focuses on creating a safe, loving, and growth-oriented learning community that strives to meet each person’s unique needs.
It is our mission to make sure that students catch up academically and graduate high school, but it is also our mission to make sure that students are prepared for the future that awaits them after high school.
The ideal student for Ralston Academy is a future 11th or 12th grader who could use adult mentorship, smaller class sizes, and credit recovery to graduate on time with their classmates. We want students who plan on going directly into the workforce, a community college, and/or a trade school. Our goal is to have 100% of our students graduate high school with a plan–and equipped with the tools necessary to be successful in the next phase of their life.
I am passionate about alternative education because it’s personal for me. The relationships I had with school staff while I grew up in nearby Sweet Home helped me become a first-generation high school graduate. After attending Linn-Benton Community College and the University of Oregon, I earned my Master’s Degree in Education.
Before starting at Ralston Academy, I taught at Lacomb School for seven years. I coached varsity boys’ basketball, started a school chess club, and organized multiple 8th grade trips to Washington D.C. and New York. Now, I’m blessed to be the principal at Ralston Academy, supported by an incredible staff that does everything they can to help our students thrive.