Students and parents say Synergy program failed learners; some forced into early graduation

Several current and former Synergy students and their parents used the public-comment period of the Jan. 8 Mineola Board of Education meeting to describe negative academic experiences tied to the Synergy program and to the district’s Build Your Own Grade (BYOG) curriculum.

Lucas Spiegle, who said he attended Synergy, described struggling with mental health and credited Synergy for some safety benefits but said the academic program was inadequate. “I was robbed of a senior year,” Lucas said, describing an ultimatum to graduate early rather than return to the regular high school. Several parents and students echoed that claim: they described inconsistent instruction, limited oversight, last-minute program changes and insufficient communication when Synergy was ended.

Speakers asked the board to investigate Synergy’s design, student outcomes and whether students were pushed into early graduation without adequate support. One parent said the district had spent millions on a Synergy building and asked what the current instructional use of the facility is now that Synergy does not appear to be operating as originally advertised.

Board members acknowledged there were shortcomings and pledged better communication and oversight. Several trustees said they would pursue governance training, modify internal audit schedules to include procurement questions tied to related contracts, and seek community volunteers with subject-matter expertise to assist with future reviews.

The board did not announce programmatic remedial steps at the meeting; trustees said they would review Nichols' investigative report and consider follow-up actions, and multiple speakers urged that accountability and remediation plans be part of that review.