 |
Students plead to save programGroup tells school officials it saved them from dropping outWisconsin State Journal
|
- By Doug Erickson
- Education reporter
Reggie Hill was a busy kid his first two years of high school, but it wasn't due to homework.
"I was skipping class, sitting around smoking pot, drinking, getting into trouble with the police," said Hill, 18.
Then he entered the Madison School District's School-Within-A- School program at La Follette High School.
"We're desperately trying to save something we love" |
"It lets you figure out what you want to do with your life," said Hill, a 1998 graduate who plans to major in business this fall at Madison Area Technical College.
He and 35 other current and former students of the alternative- learning program picketed the Downtown Doyle Administration Building on Wednesday in hopes of saving the program.
The district is cutting the program's allocation at La Follette roughly by half next year, then will eliminate the program completely for juniors and seniors after the 1999-2000 school year, said Superintendent Art Rainwater.
The program serves up to 65 juniors and seniors who are drop-out risks.
Rainwater said the money will be reallocated to programs targeted at repeat ninth-graders.
"We believe we can keep more kids in school by getting to them earlier," he said.
The phasing out of the 15-year-old program at La Follette is a blow to Richard Steffensen, the program's coordinator and one of its original founders.
"We graduate over 30 kids a year - kids that for the most part wouldn't graduate," said Steffensen, who is retiring this year. "To think that this service would be lost to Madison is inconceivable."
Students offered a litany of testimonials.
"I went from not being in school for two years to being on the honor roll for two years," said graduate Ellie Thornton.
The program offers smaller classes and more one-on-one attention.
"They treat you like a human being. They understand your problems," said senior Matt Luther.
The students started picketing about 9 a.m. and were soon ushered into McDaniels Auditorium by Assistant Superintendent Alex Boyd, who talked with them for nearly an hour.
"What would you like to see happen?" he asked.
"What would you like to see?" responded junior Ileia Williams. "Would you like to see us on the streets or in the classrooms learning?"
The students wouldn't leave until they could talk to Rainwater, who arrived about 11 a.m. and spent 40 minutes with them.
"We have a limited amount of money," he told them. "Right now, anything we do new, something else has to go."
The district spends about $250,000 for the equivalent of 5.3 full- time staff members at the School-Within-A-School, said spokesman Mike McCabe. The plan is to send about $100,000 of that, or two staff members, to East High School next school year to start a program for ninth-grade repeaters, he said.
The other 3.3 staff members will stay so that this year's juniors will be able to graduate, but no new students will be admitted.
After the program is eliminated, La Follette will continue to have an allocation of money to address potential dropouts in ways it best sees fit, McCabe said.
West High School currently has a pilot project for repeat ninth- graders, Rainwater said.
The students argued that ninth-graders are too young to appreciate the value of a stay-in-school effort. They asked Rainwater if they could help raise money to keep their program.
"We're desperately trying to save something we love," said junior April Droster.
The reality is that there is not enough money to fund all worthwhile programs, Rainwater said.
Posted March 26, 1999
 |
All
About WEAC - News
- Education Resources
|
 |