|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Building and Grounds Committee gives Alternative School their seal of approval
|
|
|
|
|
|
By ANDREW KUEHL
3/3/08 KEWASKUM- A plan to open an alternative school for high school students not fitting into the traditional school model received its first favorable nod at the school district’s building and grounds committee meeting on Monday, February 25. The new school is set to open in the district’s administration office building in fall. The district will then move their offices into a portion of Regal Ware’s office building across from the high school.
Associate Principal for Kewaskum High School (KHS) Anne Ignatowski explained the need for the alternative school. She established that through the alternative school students with social, emotional and addiction issues are able to fulfill their requirements to graduate. “For whatever reason, they are not functioning in our school at their peak capacity. We are looking at 20-45 kids being pulled from KHS and taking a completely different approach from our normal setting,” she stated.
Students attending the alternative school would have a different type of day than those attending KHS. The students would experience a compacted schedule that is more hands-on and practical. Curriculum is to be taught through interdisciplinary projects, rather than subject by subject. Time will also be spent developing social skills, and completing community projects.
“We have students in the high school who have the skills and intelligence to be successful, yet have a difficult time succeeding. An alternative school would allow the district to meet the needs of these students. Right now we are producing kids who cannot function. This is a way to get them to be productive citizens. The key is, it’s not easier. It’s different.” Ignatowski explained.
Ignatowski professed that these students are so credit deficient that if they continue on their current path, they will not graduate on time. “Right now, we have about 30-35 kids who if they stay on their current pace, will not graduate on time,” she purported.
Currently for students who are credit deficient the KHS offers the Nova Net computer lab where students take courses online to make up credits. Some students come in after school and on Saturdays to work with staff on trying to make up their classes. As a last resort, the district also pays to send kids to Moraine Park Technical College (MPTC) to receive a General Education Degree. “We’ve paid for programs in the past, because we can’t meet their needs. We are paying for three kids to go to MPTC now, with another one in April and June. This (alternative school) would eliminate that and save us money,” Ignatowski offered.
Committee member Jim Leister, asked how a student gets into a situation of credit deficiency. Superintendent of Schools, Mike Krumm answered him by saying students are faced with difficult situations like a pregnancy, illness or being kicked out of home. “They are not bad kids, some of them don’t have real good family situations,” Krumm explained. He also said that some students come from other districts already in a situation.
Krumm, gave the perspective that many kids look at their situation as hopeless. “With this we can restore some hope to kids,” he added. Ignatowski added, “These kids are smart, they just don’t show it on paper.”
Ignatowski said that students wanting to enroll in the alternative school would need to agree to specific terms that have not yet been outlined. Students would not be placed in the school against their will. The first year the school would accept juniors and seniors. Once established, the school will welcome freshmen and sophomores.
Ignatowski explained that some of the most needy kids demand a lot of individualized help from teachers, guidance counselors and principals. Upon the opening of the alternative school, they will be pulled out of KHS. The students who shared a classroom with a needy student ideally will receive a better education because the teacher will not need to devote more attention to a student who needs one-on-one teaching to succeed. Once the students needing the one-on-one teaching are removed, it should help raise the bar for the rest of the student population.
Requirements for a diploma have not officially been determined; the committee spearheading the idea with Ignatowski will present additional information to the Board of Education. Ignatowski did indicate however that students would receive a diploma from the alternative school, since they would not be students at KHS they would not receive a diploma from KHS.
Krumm reminded the committee that over the course of the next three years standards are being raised at KHS. This year a senior needs 24 credits to graduate; next year’s class needs 26 and the year after those seniors need 28. “We are increasing our standards at this school, we need a safety net for some of these kids,” he added.
To start, possibly by the next school year, two sessions will be held at the alternative school. While school is not in session students would be required to do community service or enroll in a school to work partnership.
“As a school board our first thoughts have to be to educate these kids, but we also have to ask the question, financially, how does this fit in,” questioned chairman Bill Kesting.
Business Manger Paul Reichert presented a financial plan for the committee. He stated that the school would utilize existing personnel along with various existing educational items such as textbooks and computers. Krumm also quickly pointed out that as the population increases at the alternative school, the district would receive additional money from the state.
Reichert believed that the district could attract students from other districts that do not have this type of a school. Currently plagued by open enrollment, he hypothesized that the district could see $6,100 per student through open enrollment. By retaining students that would otherwise drop out, it is keeping the district’s enrollment up and increasing aide and revenue dollars from the state.
Adhering to the strategy of using what they have, Reichert explained they intend to reconfigure the current administration building into the alternative school. The district would then lease 6,000 square feet from Regal Ware in the north end of their office building.
The current administration building is home to six people. Once the move to Regal Ware occurs administrators sprinkled throughout the district would join the six from the current administration building. Reichert figured that by doing this administration and their assistants will be to begin cross train each other. He also believed that by centrally locating everyone it would decrease travel time and not require everyone to be shifted around.
The school district will look to enter into a two-year lease of $60,000 annually, which includes utilities. To sweeten the deal, Regal Ware will also allow the district to use other areas in the building. Reichert says that money has already been budgeted for the project.
Reichert stated that before making this recommendation they looked at the former Statesman/liquor store and space in the Kewaskum Mall however both places required expensive remodeling.
Krumm also reminded the committee that by removing the students and the building and grounds office out of the high school, that will free up space for growth. “Because this building has 700 kids in it, they are crowded, not to the point where we need a new building but it will improve the situation,” he stated.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
