Jackson district will extend school day

The Cape Girardeau School Board created a stir last fall when members approved a class for all freshmen on study and social skills. Proponents heralded the class as the key to lowering the dropout rate, while critics said parents should be responsible for their child's character training.

Now the Jackson School District is working on implementing a similar program but on a broader scale. Quietly teachers and administrators are developing curriculum for an "advisory period" to be tacked on to the schedules of middle, junior high and high schoolers when classes start in August.

Like in Cape Girardeau, the class will extend the school day, with the primary purpose of student support and planned intervention for those struggling. Administrators from both districts say the increased time is necessary as accountability standards rise under the No Child Left Behind Act.

"Teachers will be able to check on the academic progress of students. If there is a problem or something that needs to be addressed, this will be an avenue," said Dr. Rita Fisher, assistant superintendent for Jackson. She said the class will include tutorials, character education, sustained silent reading and the monitoring of graduation plans. The class will add up to 20 minutes to the school day.

The rise of transition programs or formal intervention programs is a national phenomenon, according to Dr. Mike Cowan, principal of Central High School in Cape Girardeau.

"Before- or after-school tutoring is only moderately successful at best. You have to do something significant," Cowan said. He is championing the program as "the greatest opportunity to do something significant to address the dropout rate." The district's dropout rate, as reported to the state education agency, was 10.3 percent in 2007.

In Jackson, the rate was 1.8 percent, but Fisher said it is important teachers provide "more individual attention" to students so they are not lost in the shuffle.

The idea to formalize interventions at both schools came out of professional learning communities, or PLCs. PLCs are a school reform model that rely heavily on staff collaboration, monitoring measurable goals and focusing on student achievement.

"It's a model you can set up through which everything feeds: curriculum, assessment, interventions. ... The teacher no longer stands in front of the class and feels like they and only they are responsible for the child. Everyone is there to help and assist," said Peggy Hitt, a coordinator with the state education department for Missouri Accelerated Schools and professional learning communities. She is based in Cape Girardeau.

Nationally known educator Rick DuFour is credited with developing the model. Teachers from both districts heard him speak in Cape Girardeau in the early 2000s and have been working for several years to implement the model here.

In Cape Girardeau, the day will be extended by 30 minutes when classes start in August, and four new teachers are being hired to run the "Preparing for Academic Success" classes. "That we have four full-time teachers committed to the concept promises to make this different. It isn't something they are going to do on the side. This is their job," Cowan said.

In Jackson, the advisory period will be 30 minutes at the junior high and high school and 20 minutes at the middle school, although the school day will only be between 13 to 20 minutes longer depending on the school. Passing periods and lunch schedules are being reviewed.

Jackson teachers will be given the additional responsibility of running the period, something that has not sat well with some teachers.

"This additional period means less prep time, more responsibility, less instructional time per period, beginning the school day earlier and ending later," minutes from a May 29 meeting of the Community Teachers' Association show.

Parents have also expressed mixed feelings about the classes. "We, his parents, are the one responsible for [our son[']s] character training and ensuring he is prepared to succeed in high school. This responsibility is not, and should not be, yours," Teri Goodman told the Cape Girardeau School Board in the fall.

Some students have said they anticipate the class to be a "blow-off," or balk at the longer schedule. Both districts will exceed the average U.S. school day length by between 40 to 45 minutes.

Research shows extending the school day alone does not automatically equate to higher test scores. But it also shows that PLCs benefit students. In an article released in January 2006, three authors reviewed six studies of PLCs and found an "unequivocal answer" that teacher participation in PLCs increases student learning.

"Anything we can do to motivate our students and get them to think critically about themselves and their future is really important," said Dr. Paul Watkins, an associate professor at Southeast Missouri State University.

lbavolek@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123

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