Weighing the risks

They struggle to keep up in class. Some feel alienated. Others act up. Some move from school to school. Others have chronic discipline problems, health problems or poor English skills.

Educators say they're all students at risk of failing in school and dropping out entirely.

A Cape Girardeau School District committee hopes to combat such issues and help at-risk students succeed in class and life.

The committee, appointed by superintendent Dr. David Scala, likely will recommend:

* Expansion of the district's Alternative Education Center to include students as young as fifth- and sixth-graders.

* Establishment of a voluntary prekindergarten program for 3- and 4-year-olds, possibly as early as the 2007-2008 school year.

* Creation of portfolios of students' academic work which would be kept as part of students' records as they advance in grades and move from school to school in the district.

The committee hopes to make recommendations within the next several weeks. The group is one of five committees involved in developing a new five-year strategic plan of improvements for the school district covering everything from at-risk students to facilities and finance.

The board of education is expected to act on the overall plan this summer.

Deena Ring, director of special services for the school district, said it's challenging to deal with at-risk students because no single program or effort can address all their needs.

"There is no cookie-cutter approach," she said. Educators have to address the individual needs of students.

But expanding the alternative school -- which currently is limited to junior high and high school students -- could help educate Cape Girardeau Middle School students who prove disruptive or struggle to keep up academically in traditional classrooms, proponents say.

Removing those students from the traditional classrooms also could improve the learning climate at the middle school, educators said.

Twenty students in the middle school have had in-school or out-of-school suspensions five or more five times so far this school year.

Mike Dorris, director of the Cape Girardeau Alternative Education Center, supports the move to allow middle-school students to attend the center.

He's seeking a $70,000 federal grant to hire two more teachers so the center could serve middle-school students. The alternative school has six teachers.

At-risk fifth and sixth graders would benefit from attending the center, he said. "If students get retained at any grade, their chances of graduating just plummet," he said.

Failing students get frustrated, and that can lead to disruptive behavior, he said.

Earlier intervention can help get students back on track, said Dorris.

"I've always felt we should be able to service those kids," he said. "Unfortunately, every time you start a new initiative or program it costs money."

The center, housed in the former L.J. Schultz School on Pacific Street, currently serves students in grades seven through 12.

The district established the school nearly 11 years ago. The school started out in the Salvation Army building on Sprigg Street.

It moved into its current quarters on the first floor of the Pacific Street building last year. Dorris said the center could easily expand to the second floor to add two or three classrooms.

Such an expansion also would allow the center to have classes for students in grades 5 through 8, and separate classes for high-school age students.

The center has 23 students scheduled to graduate this spring. "We run anywhere from 65 to 75 students per quarter," Dorris said.

That doesn't include the approximately 40 students enrolled in an after-school program to make up academic credits so they can graduate on time.

"We want these kids to graduate, get jobs and pay taxes. We want them to be productive," said Dorris.

Some students, he said, do better in the alternative school where each class lasts 90 minutes and teachers can cover the academic material at a slower pace.

Alternative school teacher Randy Barnhouse said the concept works.

"Very few of these kids are here because they are incorrigible," said Barnhouse. "We are trying to shake the image that this is a school for bad kids."

The committee also believes establishing a voluntary prekindergarten program would allow the district identify at-risk students earlier and help them better succeed in school.

Even at ages 3 and 4, children can show signs of being at risk, said Cape Girardeau Central High School special-education teacher and at-risk committee member Mary Rutherford.

Some of those signs include behavioral issues such as children being defiant around teachers and classmates, she said.

Providing parents with advise on parenting skills early on could help in some cases, said Rutherford.

Students with special-education needs also can be considered at risk. But services already are in place for such students, she said.

But many at-risk students don't qualify for such services. "We're talking about kids falling between the cracks, not getting any services at all," she said.

"These are kids that are slow learners and it puts them at risk for academic failure," said Rutherford.

Getting such students schooling before they get to kindergarten could help, she said.

Rutherford likes the idea of student portfolios. She said the practice has worked well in Oregon public schools.

Each portfolio included samples of the student's academic work at the beginning and at the end of each school year.

For students, its a visible sign of how they have progressed in school, Rutherford said.

The portfolios also allowed teachers to see problems students might be having in particular subject areas.

"If you could tell in kindergarten that they're not learning their letters and sounds, they could concentrate on those kinds of things," Rutherford said.

The district's Ring said teachers also need to focus on different ways to reach at-risk students in their classrooms. "You can't teach one way and expect everybody to get it," she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, ext. 123