Post by gatormom on Feb 27, 2009 7:43:25 GMT -5
D203, 204 plan alternative school
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/1452501,6_1_NA27_ALTMIDSKUL_S1.article
February 27, 2009
By TIM WALDORF twaldorf@scn1.com
Naperville School District 203 and Indian Prairie School District 204 are collaborating in the development of a new, alternative middle school they hope to open next year.
The new program would cost each district an estimated $130,000 to get started.
Administrators presented preliminary plans for the program to the District 203 board at its meeting last week.
The alternative middle school would be located within Indian Plains Alternative High School, would use District 204's curriculum, and would serve roughly 30 seventh and eighth graders, combined, from the two school systems.
It would be a one-year program designed for students who have not been successful in the traditional middle school program, but would not include students who have a pattern of physical violence.
The intent is to provide a program for students who may benefit academically in a smaller, structured educational environment -- one that is conducive to a variety of learning styles and helps students make appropriate choices and experience success.
"There are so few spots and we are just starting next year, so one of the dilemmas would be to just focus in particular on some kids that are really struggling and at risk for being expelled. But it would also provide an alternative for kids who are expelled, and some of those have good academic records," said District 203 Superintendent Alan Leis of the students who would be served by the program.
"We're just trying to keep these kids in the district. That's what our thoughts were," he added.
Keeping some of these students in their districts rather than sending them to out-of-district behavioral schools could lead to significant savings.
While the projected per-pupil expenditure of $10,000 to $11,000 for students in the program would be a bit higher than District 203's average of $9,790, it would be significantly less than the $20,000 to $30,000 per student the district must pay when it sends kids to those out-of-district behavioral schools.
And administrators believe a program of their own creation that only serves students they believe will thrive within it -- students who may have been expelled, but also students who just aren't succeeding in a normal school setting -- will provide them educational benefits these students wouldn't get at the behavioral schools.
"By providing them with a curriculum that is used by all of the other students in a school district, we think we could provide them with an academic background that would better meet their needs," said District 203 Student Intervention Programs Director Jim Caudill, who has worked with District 204 Director of Secondary Education Kevin Meyers in developing the program.
"Again, this is only a framework," Caudill said. "There is a lot of work that has to be done to this to get it ready to go."
BY THE NUMBERS:
11 Number of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders expelled from District 203 schools in the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 school years, combined.
6 Number of those expulsions who were special education students.
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/1452501,6_1_NA27_ALTMIDSKUL_S1.article
February 27, 2009
By TIM WALDORF twaldorf@scn1.com
Naperville School District 203 and Indian Prairie School District 204 are collaborating in the development of a new, alternative middle school they hope to open next year.
The new program would cost each district an estimated $130,000 to get started.
Administrators presented preliminary plans for the program to the District 203 board at its meeting last week.
The alternative middle school would be located within Indian Plains Alternative High School, would use District 204's curriculum, and would serve roughly 30 seventh and eighth graders, combined, from the two school systems.
It would be a one-year program designed for students who have not been successful in the traditional middle school program, but would not include students who have a pattern of physical violence.
The intent is to provide a program for students who may benefit academically in a smaller, structured educational environment -- one that is conducive to a variety of learning styles and helps students make appropriate choices and experience success.
"There are so few spots and we are just starting next year, so one of the dilemmas would be to just focus in particular on some kids that are really struggling and at risk for being expelled. But it would also provide an alternative for kids who are expelled, and some of those have good academic records," said District 203 Superintendent Alan Leis of the students who would be served by the program.
"We're just trying to keep these kids in the district. That's what our thoughts were," he added.
Keeping some of these students in their districts rather than sending them to out-of-district behavioral schools could lead to significant savings.
While the projected per-pupil expenditure of $10,000 to $11,000 for students in the program would be a bit higher than District 203's average of $9,790, it would be significantly less than the $20,000 to $30,000 per student the district must pay when it sends kids to those out-of-district behavioral schools.
And administrators believe a program of their own creation that only serves students they believe will thrive within it -- students who may have been expelled, but also students who just aren't succeeding in a normal school setting -- will provide them educational benefits these students wouldn't get at the behavioral schools.
"By providing them with a curriculum that is used by all of the other students in a school district, we think we could provide them with an academic background that would better meet their needs," said District 203 Student Intervention Programs Director Jim Caudill, who has worked with District 204 Director of Secondary Education Kevin Meyers in developing the program.
"Again, this is only a framework," Caudill said. "There is a lot of work that has to be done to this to get it ready to go."
BY THE NUMBERS:
11 Number of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders expelled from District 203 schools in the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 school years, combined.
6 Number of those expulsions who were special education students.