Stone Academy students gathered at the East Hartford campus on Monday following last week’s announcement that all three campuses would be closing.
“We depended on Stone to give us a brighter future,” said Symia Lyles, nursing student at Stone Academy.
A week after Stone Academy announced its sudden closure, students and those in their corner gathered at the East Hartford campus, intent on being heard.
“They just disposed of me like I was nothing,” Lyles said. “I have children that were dependent on this for their future. I try to do better for my children and Stone was my gateway to that.”
Haley Pekoske, a certified nursing instructor at Stone Academy, joined her student’s push for an equitable teach-out plan.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
“They need justice. They need to get their credits transferred to a school and put on the same page as where they were at this school,” Pekoske said.
The Office of Higher Education said that the plan will start with a third-party audit to assess the credibility of each student’s record.
“We’re going to validate your transcript so that you have in your possession what you bought,” said Tim Larson, Executive Director of the Office of Higher Education.
Local
From there, the students and transfer schools are aware of their official academic standing, and will receive additional support when looking at new schools.
Larson said his department will begin that process as soon as Tuesday. He also said his office will hold a fair at the end of February where students will have the chance to learn more about alternate nursing programs.
Lincoln Technical Institute, Griffin Hospital School of Allied Health Careers, Porter and Chester Institute, as well as the National Guard will all be in attendance, according to Larson. Specific dates for the fair have not yet been announced.
As for the instructors, Pekoske is in a similar state of uncertainty, with the hope of also continuing to instruct at a different institution.
“I have to file for unemployment. There’s nothing to get us through. It was a two-day notice,” she said.
Stone Academy did not respond to requests for a comment Monday.
