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New PUSD Program Helps Failing High School Seniors Graduate

Published on Sunday, August 4, 2013 | 9:33 pm
 

[ Correction: This story originally reported that  Principal Michael Brazo was asked by the Board to comment on the Twilight program. In fact, that was incorrect. Actually, it was Pasadena High School Principal Gilbert Barraza who was asked and who responded.]

Plans for a new program called Twilight designed to help more high schoolers graduate stirred up heated discussion at last Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting.

At the end of the last school year, 502 district students were 10 or more credits behind, district officials said.

Dr. Fal Asrani and Rose City Principal Jack Loos presented a plan for all high school students who fail a course or need more credits to take recovery courses at night at Rose City High School.

“We could possibly get our hands on around at least 100 seniors right now who can walk across the finish line this year. We don’t want to see graduation rates of 80 percent,” Asrani said in her presentation.

If all goes as planned, the Twilight program will be implemented during the upcoming 2013-14 school year as an immediate solution.

“Our kids don’t have a year for us to study it. Some of these kids who could be positively impacted by that, if we don’t get some kind of credit reclamation ready for them, they could drop out this year,” School Board President Renatta Cooper said.

However, other board members thought the program was rushed and disagreed that a Twilight Program at Rose City High School was the best for the students.

“Getting those students to attend these courses is the weak link. Nobody wants to go to Rose City High School on purpose,” Board Member Scott Phelps said.

Board Member Mikala Rahn also negated the idea offering that a better use of the dollars would place a credit recovery program at each high school.

“We desperately need credit recovery at the high schools,” Rahn said. “I would support one hundred percent that every high school has a credit recovery option on campus because that’s going to prevent them from ending up at learning works and CIS.”

Board Member Kimberly Kenne questioned if sufficient staff was in place to begin so soon.

“For me it’s not the concept so much as sufficient planning time. The more we align who we want to serve and why we want to serve them, and get the program to match and that its affordable,” Kenne said.

Board Member Tom Selinkse interjected, “I have issues with this conversation too, because we’re disempowering the staff. This is starting to get into micromanagement.”

Selinske’s remark pointed to a recent Board of Education theme: disputes over just how involved the Board should get in evaluating the details of plans and programs.

“A few of the board members get way too into implementation details. We’re supposed to have the big picture perspective and we’re supposed to empower the staff, and we’re supposed to provide them with the resources they need to get their work done,” Cooper said later in a phone interview.

“If the superintendent tells you he’s ready to go with something, if you trust your superintendent you need to let him go with it,” Cooper said.

The board asked Pasadena High School Principal Gilbert Barraza to weigh in on the situation during the Tuesday night discussions.

“We do need something very quickly in the first semester,” Barraza said. “As far as the Twilight program, what’s attractive about that is that we have quite a few students in transition right now that do need an alternative program.”

Twilight seeks to prevent dropouts and make every student college ready. The program could bridge the gap for students who lose morale because it seems no options could help them graduate on time.

If students are failing a class in the fall semester they will not have to wait until summer, but could take the recovery course the next semester in the evenings.

Superintendent Jon Gundry affirmed he was ready to move forward with the Twilight program, but would bring the board’s concerns into consideration and may start with three terms of Twilight this year instead of four.

“I think it’s always better to strike while the iron is hot. One thing, if you don’t pass a class, if you repeat it right away, your chances of passing it are better than if you wait six months,” Cooper said.

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