The Vicious Cycle at South Portland High aims to engage at-risk students in offering bicycle repairs to the community.

One way to keep at-risk students engaged and enthused about going to school is to give them something to look forward to.

That’s where the new bicycle shop at South Portland High School comes in, according to founder Scott Keysor, who is a special education teacher and chairman of the school’s Response to Intervention Committee. The shop is set to open this fall.

Keysor said there are plenty of programs for students who enjoy academics or sports, but for the at-risk students it can be hard to find a pathway to success.

“For these kids the academic and social pieces of school are often difficult, especially since a lot of them are hands on learners,” Keysor said.

That’s why he was inspired to seek out a grant to get the new bike shop under way. This summer, Keysor will work toward getting the bike shop up and running so the program will be ready to go when students return to school in the fall.

Although the bike shop, which Keysor has dubbed “The Vicious Cycle,” doesn’t yet have a designated location within the school, donations of old bikes, bike parts, bike-repair equipment and funds will all be accepting during the next couple months, he said.

Keysor named the bike shop in honor of “reversing the trend of the struggling, disengaged student by giving (them) an opportunity to do something they enjoy.” He added that the bike shop is “a hook” to keep at-risk kids coming to school.

Keysor also said the new bike shop would be a great way for the kids involved to “give back and to learn practical skills.”

What he envisions is a place where students refurbish old bicycles that then get donated to youngsters who can’t afford their own bike. In addition, the students would offer bicycle repair services to the community.

“This student-run organization will be a great opportunity for students to learn a (practical) skill, build life skills and provide a community service,” Keysor said.

So far, he said, “there’s been quite a lot of buzz” and interest among students, and Keysor said he’s been both surprised and pleased by the response.

“I knew I had a core group, who are all avid BMXers, but I’ve also been approached by other students wanting to become involved. The bike shop has just touched a nerve in a really positive way,” he said.

Andy Greif, executive director and founder of the Community Bicycle Center in Biddeford, said bike programs engage kids because “they address … the need for fun; the need for freedom and independence; the need for a sense of belonging; and the need for the power of choice, (which) comes as a result of knowledge and skill development.”

The Community Bicycle Center, which got its start in 2001, now has an annual budget of about $228,000 and has moved into its own permanent space, after operating from a shed owned by the city of Biddeford for many years.

At the bike center, participants learn caring, cooperation, responsibility, problem solving, initiative, patience and perseverance, among many other values and skills, according to the nonprofit’s website.

That’s what Keysor is hoping students participating in The Vicious Cycle will learn, as well, he said.

“I want the kids interacting and building relationships,” and not just among themselves. Keysor also hopes students in the South Portland bike program will build relationships of trust with the community as a whole.

Greif said a bike program like Keysor is hoping to create is just as “important to the learning and development of youth as traditional education experiences. They provide unique opportunities for connected learning in which kids experience things that interest them and (this type of) learning (also) has real world applications.”

David Brenner, the school completion coordinator with the South Portland School Department, agreed.

“We hope that the hook for some kids is the bike shop. Maybe they don’t want to jump out of bed each morning (for) academic classes, but if they know they need to do their academic work so they can participate in the bike program, they will come to school,” Brenner said.

He added, “I think it’s an important option because we have some talented students in the school who can showcase (that) talent by working on bicycles.”

Keysor first got the idea for a bike shop at South Portland High School, which he hopes will be open four days a week after school, about two years ago.

He’s an avid bicyclist himself and heard there was a dedicated group of BMX riders at Memorial Middle School that would soon be enrolled at the high school.

At about the same time, Keysor also learned that the Berlin City Auto Group, which has dealerships in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, runs a grant program entitled “Drive for Education,” which is “about enriching the lives of children,” according to the company’s website.

Keysor applied for a grant from Drive for Education to get The Vicious Cycle off the ground. In late December, he received $3,000 in seed money.

He had hoped to get the bike program going this past spring, but Keysor was sidetracked by a battle with colon cancer. He’s now cancer free and feeling much better, so Keysor is dedicating his summer to ensuring The Vicious Cycle is ready to go for students this fall.

As a final project this past spring, members of the business class at the high school designed a logo for The Vicious Cycle and also created a website for the bike program, Keysor said. That, along with the grant funding, has given the bike shop a good start.

“The intent of this program is to bring kids together, meld friendships in-place and create a positive environment for all to enjoy,” Keysor said. “I want this to be a place to have fun – a club for tinkering on bikes and having a good time.”