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Alternative Center for Education R-2 District Wins
$95,000 Federal Grant U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill has announced that the Chillicothe R-2 School District will receive a $95,575 Mentoring Program Grant from the US Department of Education to help children in need receive assistance in school through mentorship. Nancy Elliott, CMS Taking Another Path (TAP) instructor, wrote the grant which she said will expand the alternative school's existing mentoring program. Students who are not enrolled in TAP, but considered to be "at risk" will also participate in the mentoring program. "With these funds, we can do monthly field experiences, purchase supplies and materials to use in sessions with students and the mentors," Elliott explained. She added that the funds will also benefit the youth participating in the Y-PAL program directed by Genie Amen at the Grand River Area Family YMCA. Elliott said that the directors of the grant include fellow TAP instructor Ellen Gott and Ms. Amen. Middle School counselor, Laurie Hardie, and Central School Counselor, Susan Jackson, will also be working closely with the program. Around 45 youth in grades four through eight will participate in the program, and Elliott said that the search to find enough mentors will get in full swing soon. "That's our big challenge," Elliott said. While she noted that several mentoring partnerships have already been established through existing programs, many more are needed. The Dept. of Education states that the grant is intended to help children with the greatest need in grades 4-8 that reside in rural areas, high crime areas, troubled environments, or who have attended schools with violence problems. Mentors participating in the program undergo appropriate screening and background checks and receive continuous training and support. Elliott said that mentors will be encouraged to meet with students during school hours and at other times and possibly extend the program through the summer on a minimum basis. When asked what the mentors and students will do together, Elliott explained that sessions will likely alternate between academic tutoring sessions and field trips/social outings. "We're trying to see if we can go to KC around Christmas time and see "The Christmas Carol," Elliott said. While mentors cannot be paid for their volunteer efforts, the grant money, Elliott explained, covers any expenses that may occur through the program. The grant is a 3-year grant ($95,575 per year), but the school district must reapply for it annually. Making a Difference
One Student at a Time
C-T Photo/Laura Schuler Amanda Davis, 19, of Chillicothe, is a little more optimistic about her future these days. She even has aspirations toward becoming a college instructor someday - a goal which was completely out of reach for the young mother just a few months ago. Davis dropped out of high school at the beginning of her senior year. She wasn't pregnant; she was simply struggling to make good grades - something she had never struggled with before. So she quit school. Soon afterward, she became pregnant with her son, Matthew, now 14 months old, and her dreams for the future seemed even more unattainable. Then, she enrolled in Chillicothe R-2's Even Start Program and now, after just over two months of studying and earning her General Education Diploma, her future is much brighter, her goals now within reach. Even Start is a program designed to help high school drop outs receive their GED. It is free and offers 72 hours a month of instruction, Monday through Thursday with morning sessions on the second floor of the Chillicothe R-2 district headquarters and afternoon sessions at Garrison School. But what sets this program apart from other GED programs, is that the Even Start Program adds the component of free child care, lunches and transportation for its students and their children. According to Chillicothe R-2 School Superintendent Dale Wallace, the program is making a difference in the lives of many people. District Prepares for
Alternative High School Some small scale remodeling work has already started on the second floor of the building housing the Chillicothe R-2 School District headquarters and officials say the space will be ready in late August for the first day of alternative school classes. The Chillicothe Alternative Center for Education will open its doors for the first time on Aug. 21, the first day of R-2 classes, and its director, Karie Black, said Thursday that most of the school's staff has been hired with a teachers meeting conducted just recently. “Right now we're spending time on putting together the curriculum and faculty. Once we do that, we'll meet with prospective students from the schools that are involved,” Black explained. Between 12 and 15 high school students from Brookfield, Linn County, Meadville, Marceline, Southwest and Gallatin are expected to attend the school with the remainder of spots to be filled with Chillicothe high school students. Priority will be given to students with chronically disruptive behavior, but Black reported that the school will also offer openings to students who are not “making it” in the regular school setting. “We are offering (those students) a smaller setting with more individualized attention from their teachers,” Black said, adding, “We'll try to get them to earn the credits they need so they can successfully graduate high school.” The school is being funded through a Safe Schools grant to the tune of $250,000 and some local matching funds the first year. The following two years, the district will receive state grant funds, however the proportion of state funds will decrease during that time and the amount of district funds will increase. School officials report that those matching funds will come from the monies given to the district from the sending schools. Each will pay the R-2 district for every spot filled by their respective students. District officials say that once the school is established, more area schools will likely be interested in sending students, which will offset some of the costs associated with running the school past the life of the grant. R-2 Expands
At-Risk Program to Middle School A unanimous vote from the R-2 School Board to expand the district's behavior/at-risk program to grades six through eight was made Tuesday, April 25, 2006. "We're really excited about this and we are extremely grateful to the board for recognizing the need to address the problems these students have and help improve the environment for the rest of the school," CMS Principal Bryan Prewitt stated. The board also voted to relocate the kindergarten through 5th grade program and add a teacher to its staff. The 6-8 grade program will be staffed by two teachers: Ellen Gott and Nancy Elliott and only one of those positions would be replaced in the middle school. Between 20-24 students are expected to be included in that program, which will be held in the middle school's west wing and includes two classrooms, two workrooms, a bathroom, and an outside door. The cost of adding the middle school grades to the district's behavioral/at-risk program is $60,000. Those funds will come from the district's general revenue fund. In the same vote, the board voted to move the district's behavioral/at-risk program from the trailers east of Dewey School to Garrison School and add a second teacher to that program. The stage at Garrison School is used by the district's GED program. That program will then move next year to the second floor of district headquarters which should work well with the high school alternative school setting if the district qualifies for the $250,000 Safe Schools Grant. The district's Title I services, which take up two classrooms at Garrison School, will then move to the school's stage, freeing up two classrooms for the K-5 alternative school setting. The cost of adding another teacher to the K-5 program will be absorbed easily because a 4th grade teaching position will not be replaced next year simply due to a smaller incoming 4th grade class. R-2
Moves Step Closer to Forming Alternative School The R-2 board unanimously approved the district's application during a special meeting held this (Thursday) morning at district headquarters. The deadline for grant applications is April 15 and Superintendent Dale Wallace explained that the applications would be examined on May 10 with notification to grant winners expected by the end of May. The funds would be used to establish a school specifically designed for local and area high school students who are considered to be at risk of not graduating. The board first discussed the possibility of forming such a school during the regular February board meeting and questions immediately surfaced on how the school would be funded. A month later, Wallace informed the group of the district's possibility of winning the grant which would provide needed funding. The idea of applying for the grant was met with quick board approval. Board President David Williams reported today that the proposed alternative school would, no doubt, benefit at risk students, their classmates and their teachers. Winning the grant, he said, would provide necessary funds, in essence removing the only obstacle of making the school a reality. “If we win this grant, we would be able to offer the alternative school without costing the school district a huge amount of money,” he said. Wallace reported that so far, four area school districts have committed to sending some of their students to the school if the district wins the grant. They are: Brookfield, Linn County R-1, Meadville and Southwest Livingston County R-1. Wallace reported that another area school district is almost certain to join the consortium pending a board vote this week, and he expects a few more districts to join the ranks at a later date. The district applied for a $250,000 grant which, if approved, will be awarded in full to the district the first year and the Chillicothe R-2 District is required to provide a 30 percent match. The next year, the district would apply for a $200,000 grant and match those funds at 50 percent. The third and final year of the grant, the district would apply for a $170,000 grant, which it would match at 70 percent, Wallace said. The years following, the district would sustain all of the funding for the school. R-2 Considers
Alternative School There's no question that the creation of an alternative school within the Chillicothe R-2 School district would be beneficial. What remains in doubt is where the district would come up with the money to fund it. The possibility of creating an alternative school - The Chillicothe Alternative Center for Education - was spoken of at length last (Tuesday) evening during the regular February meeting at district headquarters. Leading the discussion was Vocational Resource Educator Karie Black, who explained that in recent years, the Chillicothe High School Care team has been finding it more difficult to deal with the problems associated with at-risk students. The Care team is a group of high school counselors, nurses, administrators and teachers who meet regularly to identify and help students who are in danger of dropping out of school. “We (the school district) don't have much to offer students who are at risk,” Black explained. She noted that there are many students in the high school grades who, for one reason or another, are not getting the best education possible and who, in turn, are depriving their classmates of getting the best education they can. "It's not that we have bad students or bad teachers," Black told the board members. "our teachers know they need to offer special or additional help to some of their students, but there's only 52 minutes in each class and they have a full classroom of other students to teach," she noted. The alternative school, she said, would be designed to put at-risk students in a smaller academic setting where they could succeed and eventually graduate from high school. So far, district officials are estimating that the school would handle between 40 and 48 students in the morning session and the same number of students in the afternoons. Half of those students would likely come from the some of the approximately 16 area school districts who send students to the Grand River Technical School during the year. Those schools would pay about $10,000 per student for an entire your of full-day classes. "Kids can come half-day all year for $5,000," Black explained. The estimated cost to educate the average student at Chillicothe is around $5,000 per student, per year and Black explained that the most for sending at-risk students to the alternative school would be about twice as high, simply because it takes more resources to teach them. Enrollment would be offered quarterly, she said, noting that most students going to the school would be "rotated" back to the high school as soon as their grade improved. Only a few students with academic or behavioral problems would spend most of their high school careers at the alternative school. The four core classes - math, communications arts, science and social studies - would be taught to students between the ages of 15 and 20 years-old. Some credit recovery would also be taught there. Involvement of the area's sending school is a necessity in order for the school to become a reality, The total start-up cost associated with it comes to an estimated $300,500, including salaries and materials and the funds coming from the area schools would cover only some of that cost. Dale Wallace, R-2 superintendent, reported that the rest of the funds would have to come from somewhere else within the district. School District
To Consider Alternative School Option As early as next year, high school students considered to be at high risk for dropping out could be receiving their education in an alternative school offered by the Chillicothe R-2 School District. Chillicothe R-2 board members will discuss the possibility of just that during the regular February meeting scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. tonight (Tuesday) at district headquarters. According to Dale Wallace, R-2 superintendent, the “alternative” school would be designed to educate students in the higher grades who, for various reasons, are in danger of dropping out of school. The alternative school, Wallace explained, would be designed to put those students in a setting where they could succeed and eventually graduate from high school. So far, district officials are estimating that the school would handle between 40 and 48 students in the mornings and afternoons. If the alternative school becomes a reality, it would easily be located above district head quarters in what previously was the office space for SkillPath Seminars, which moved out of the space last fall. The district owns the building and has yet to find a renter. In order to offer the alternative school, Wallace said that participation from area school districts is a necessity, The district has been in contact with all 16 of the Grand River Technical School's sending schools as well as the Brookfield and Carrollton school districts. If districts would like to send "at-risk" students to the alternative schools, they would likely need to contribute $5,000 per student, per half-day classes, Wallace stated. "Depending on the participation outside the district, the remaining balance (of funding the program would be up to use (the Chillicothe R-2 School District)." |
CAPTION:
Even Start student Amanda Davis (left), studied for her General Education Diploma over the summer, along with classmates Savannah Peralez (center) and Amber Lawson (right) during morning classes held on the second floor of Chillicothe R-2 District Headquarters. Davis has since earned her GED and hopes to enroll in January at North Central Missouri College in Trenton.