The Alliance Public Schools Board Members took action after hearing information presented to them during their meeting on April 8, voting to restructure the Alternative School, effectively making it its own school.
AHS Principal Chris Stein and Alternative School Principal Kristin Zochol developed the plan before approaching the board with the proposal. Superintendent Dr. Troy Unzicker gave the board members the highlights of the plan.
“They’re looking for the Alternative School to become a separate entity,” said Unzicker. “It would be an alternative high school where once you go to the high school, you won’t return to the main school, kind of a last resort style. The credit requirement would go from 260 to 200. The alternative school would go under the current high school administration, so we would drop the Alternative School extra principal.”
Unzicker said that, under the proposal, the Alternative School would eventually be staffed by two teachers and a para, with a planned cap at 50 students. As of the board meeting, there were a total of nine students attending the alternative school. The course work would be digital with a four-hour day in the classroom and job coaching. Unzicker said that the students’ work hours would count toward their active credits. He asked Stein and Zochol to share more information with the board members.
“I think one of the things that’s kind of important to know is students would basically disconnect from the high school,” Stein said. “There is no coming into the main high school for electives. There is no going to dances. There is no athletic participation. It is a true last chance to graduate, to get there. I think, in our minds, I think the thing that it will do for our kids is, we can start thinking career based with those students, instead of job after job after job after job, that we start focusing on a career.”
Stein explained that part of the plan would include job shadowing for students in the alternative school and getting them more involved with the community. Zochol explained that when discussing career-based education, they are focusing more on juniors and seniors.
“We had the conversation of, you know, if it was open to sophomores, that’s too young to disconnect them from the high school,” said Zochol. “We would want to have something in place so they can go back.”
Stein added that once the students are in 11th and 12th grade, they would have a different focus. He emphasized that although cutting the credits required to 200, the students would still meet the requirements set by the state.
“Where the credits are different are more in the elective portion than anywhere else,” Stein said. “As far as the state requirements, they still have to do three years of math, three years of social studies—none of that is taken out of there. It is basically in elective credits.”
Stein noted that this change is meant to target students who are at risk of not completing high school.
“I think the kids who are targeted are kids who may not make it otherwise, and this would be a better shot for them,” said Stein. “It’s a better opportunity for our community, to put more kids in our community that come out of high school that are ready for a career, not just one job for two months, and another job for two months, and another job for two months. We’re seeing a lot of that.”
Unzicker explained that if the board approved the restructuring, policies would be created so that the change would take effect in the next school year. He said it would be crucial to plan for unique situations when creating the policies, such as allowing students to reintegrate with the high school on a case by case basis.
“By separating this from the high school, it limits those kids wanting to just hurry up, graduate and get out,” said Stein. “This is for the kids that high school’s hard. We saw a lot of anxiety issues, those kids who have a hard time going to those classes with 25, 30 people. It really worked for them. That’s our job, if a kid is fully capable, and there’s no reason for them to move over to the Alternative School, it’s our job to filter that out and to be able to say ‘no, you’re not moving, you’re fine where you’re at.’ I think that is a concern of kids just wanting to get in there to get their 200 hours and move on. I really feel like we become the filter.”
Stein said that at the time of the meeting he could think of 10 more students who would benefit from going into the Alternative School. Unzicker said that the plan would be to move the Alternative School out of the High School to give it a clear separation. He said they have three proposed locations, including the conference room at the Administrative Building, the third floor of the Middle School and an off-campus site downtown. Unzicker said their goal is to not increase costs by having an off-site location, so long term planning would be needed for locating the Alternative School.
Board President Tim Kollars expressed his concern with the proposal, citing the decreased requirements for graduation. He noted that he works with people first hand, and has seen issues within the workforce.
“I’ve got a problem with cutting the graduation requirements down,” said Kollars. “Generally, the biggest problem is the lack of commitment to doing anything, and wanting to do it the easiest way they can to get it done. So, I’m not a big fan of this. I see the side of ‘yeah, they’re not getting their work done,’ but that translates exactly into the job they get, no matter how much job coaching they get. I think that any requirements down from before from what the requirements are now, even if it’s a separate school, I don’t like it.”
Board Member Shana Brown responded that having the students gain job experience could cancel out some of the reduced requirements. She said that fostering relationships with employers will help determine a path forward.
“I feel like this is a lot more organized and career focused than last time, in my opinion,” Brown said.
Stein emphasized that none of the state requirements will change. He noted it will better help to prepare students for their futures.
“We give them some credit for holding a job, they have to work 15 hours a week in order to have certain amounts of credits,” said Stein. “We are not cutting out anything state based; we are cutting out a little bit of the fluff, which, some of it is fluff. I don’t think it will make it easier for these kids to graduate, if that makes sense. It could shorten the time, but I don’t think it makes it easier. There’s a reason they would be attending this school in the first place. I get what you’re saying, I’m not arguing that. I also think that we will help some kids that we wouldn’t help if we do this, where they would just be left out and drop out once they hit 18. Now we can at least have some headway into putting out a product that is more job ready because they stayed in it. They finished something, and we have a better chance to be successful with more kids coming out.”
Zochol said that this year one student dropped out when he turned 18, citing the need to work as part of the reason for dropping out. Kollars said that he his greatest qualms are with the students who lack commitment and who want the easy way out. Stein said that it is their job to filter out the students who would qualify for the Alternative School. He said he believes eliminating the ability for students in the Alternative School to cross back over to the high school should limit the number of students who try to make the switch.
“If you go there, you go there and that is your last chance to be successful,” said Stein. “I think that will filter some of that out, but I also think it’s our job to know who needs it and who doesn’t need it and try to find the best fits for them.”
Board Member Edison Red Nest III asked Stein about the work requirements for students in the Alternative School, and how they make up hours if they do not complete 15 hours a week. Stein responded that ultimately job coaching and community-based partnerships would be crucial in that regard, giving the example of a student who would like to be a diesel mechanic and having them partnered with a local diesel mechanic to learn about the trade, even if it is just having the student clean the shop.
He noted that having the teachers assist the students with job interviews would also be a goal. Red Nest asked if all 50 students would have jobs, and Stein said that it is the goal of the program. Stein explained that if the students do not have jobs, they would look at making up hours with computer-based elective classes.
Unzicker said that many schools in the state are saving money in their districts by encouraging student employment.
“It’s amazing to me, listening to the number of schools now who control their FTE on their teaching staff by creating part-time opportunities for kids,” said Unzicker. “There’s schools in our state right now that are encouraging their seniors to only come half a day to school because that way they won’t need as many teachers. That’s how they’re saving money is they’re going to half day. There’s more of this going on than you would think, and more than I’m comfortable with, but it’s happening right now. That may become a creative solution for schools now having financial issues.”
Stein said that they are not asking the board to lower full-time equivalent, instead they are asking to raise it by adding teachers in the Alternative School.
Brown made the motion to approve the restructuring of the Alternative School, and Board Member Jake Sylvester seconded it. All board members present, with the exception of Kollars, voted to approve the restructuring of the Alternative School.