Tacoma's newest educational option the Twilight Academy is not intended to be a magnet for sparkly bloodsuckers, like its famous moniker may imply.

The new credit retrieval program, stationed at Foss High School after regular school hours, is meeting the need for non-conventional high school students, and the first of its kind for the district.

"This is a non-traditional, innovative learning model made up by a committee of Foss families," said Foss Principal Bonnie McGuire.

Students from throughout the state can enroll in Foss' evening program, either on a full-time or a part-time basis, in order to retrieve lost credits from previous years of academic struggles, or to add some flexibility to their typical early-start day schedule.

The Twilight Academy is accepting students through the remainder of February into early March and classes are scheduled for Monday through Thursday from 4-8 p.m., in addition to online coursework.

The content of the 75-minute courses will be student driven, meaning Twilight Academy will offer a small selection of crucial classes that students need in order to graduate, according to McGuire. This includes core content such as English, math and science.

"When we decided to keep Foss open, this is the innovation I had hoped for," said School Board member Kurt Miller, referring to Foss' risk of being shut down last winter due to budgetary reasons.

One of the stipulations to keeping the low-enrollment high school viable was tasking administrators and the community to come up with new ways to use the building space and boost enrollment at the school.

Anyone enrolled in the Twilight Academy at Foss will be considered either a full or part-time Foss student.

Students aged 16 to 20 from anywhere in the region are eligible to participate in this unique program which complements existing alternative programs in Tacoma, including Oakland High School as well as Tacoma Business Academy's day programs.

"Students at risk of not graduating need a menu of options. No current program serves students in the late afternoon and evening," McGuire said.

For the remainder of the school year, Twilight Academy will be staffed by current Foss teachers who will volunteer to participate and receive extra pay for the long hours at the school.

A rolling enrollment period will allow students to enter the program through March 6. Plans for transportation for Tacoma students as well as meals for after the normal school hours are currently being finalized.

"This is an example of what we want to do in this district in terms of getting kids educated," said School Board member Karen Vialle.