CAPE'S SATURDAY SCHOOL SCORES HIGH MARKS

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Ten students at Cape Central High School spent Saturday morning in school, voluntarily.

Instead of an out-of-school suspension, students who misbehave at the school are now given the option of serving their punishments on Saturday.

Last semester was the first time the Cape Girardeau School District offered the option of "Saturday School."

During traditional suspensions, students are not allowed to make up tests or homework. With "Saturday School," students' grades don't have to suffer.

"This program is working," said James Englehart, director of secondary education. "Our goal is to keep students at school, and it's doing that."

Because of Saturday School, out-of-school suspensions dropped from 104 in the first semester of the 1989-90 school year to 50 last semester.

Students are required to work on homework during the four hours of Saturday School, from 8 a.m. to noon. Suspensions can result from repeated truancy, being caught smoking on campus more than once, and a number of other violations of school policy, Englehart said.

But Saturday School is not mandatory. "You can't make them do something they don't want to do, but we're giving them the option of still being able to learn," he said.

But how do the students feel? Heather Bernhardt, a freshman who was in school Saturday because of repeated truancy, said whether or not students take advantage of Saturday School depends on how serious they are about their studies, and how much importance they place on grades.

"Not being able to make up tests isn't going to bother you if it doesn't bother you to skip school," she said. Heather said she read her biology book most of the morning.

But more than 50 percent of delinquent students took advantage of Saturday School this past semester, a fact that surprised Englehart. "When you start something like this, you wonder if the students are going to take advantage of it."

Englehart said he's pleased with the program because it emphasizes the importance of attendance. Parents are usually in favor of Saturday School, he added.

Julie Davis, who normally teaches the learning disabled, is one of five or six district teachers who have volunteered to supervise the students on Saturdays. After students were dismissed Saturday, Davis said that, overall, she feels teachers are enthusiastic about the program.

"As educators, we like to see the students in school as much as possible," she said. "Overall, I think the general feeling among teachers is that they prefer it."

Englehart said because of the good first-semester results of the Saturday School program, the district will most likely continue it next year.

"I think most kids have accepted it. The ones who disagree strongly with it still opt for the regular suspension," he said. "We normally don't have any disciplinary problems with the students who are there on Saturdays."