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| 7/11/2009 | Email this article • Print this article | District deals with highest drop-out rate in the region
GASD developing programs to increase graduation rate
Jessica Maher
Reporter
The goal of year-old alternative education programs in the Greater Amsterdam School District is for Amsterdam High School to never again take first place in a recent ranking of regional drop-out percentages.
Released last month by The Business Review, AHS surpassed Albany High School and high schools in Cohoes and Schenectady for the highest drop-out rate in the Capital Region for the year 2007-08. According to the report, AHS had 212 total graduates that year and 100 drop-outs. Albany High's 6 percent drop-out rate could not compare to AHS's rate of 8 percent.
"Alarming is an understatement," said GASD board of education vice-president Sean Piasecki. "[The numbers] in fact were breathtaking."
But even before The Business Review pointed out GASD's deficiencies, ranking it 80 out of 85 Capital District schools based on its graduation rate and assessment scores, the district had begun to take aim at the high dropout rate of the 2007-08 school year.
"It is a low graduation rate but definitely something that's being addressed now," said Rick Potter, alternative education principal.
Potter came on board in the district in August 2008, after GASD had split ways with Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES' alternative high school program. Potter said that in his experience, off-site programs like BOCES' are expensive and the have difficulty enforcing attendance and ensuring cooperation with the students.
"I think in their own way [GASD] was trying to address it," said Potter. "It just wasn't as effective as they needed it to be ... by bringing them back here we have more control over what they're learning."
Developed by Potter and other administrators, the alternative education programs are funded entirely by Contract for Excellence, which the district receives for being identified by the state as a district in need. The programs include middle school alternative education, high school alternative education, alternative high school equivalency preparation program (AHSEP) and the out of school suspension education program (OSSEP).
Alternative education, said Potter, is not just for misbehaved or troubled kids, and it is also not a short cut.
"There are certain students who don't have special education needs but for some reason aren't doing well in their regular classes," said Potter. "We've had really successful students who just weren't able to succeed in regular classes."
In middle school, the reason is often a motivational issue stemming from some kind of personal problem, and alternative education acts as a preventative measure with the goal of getting students back on track as they enter high school.
It's a full-day program in which students spend six out of eight periods in the alternative education classroom. Teacher Linda Haile consults with the other middle school teachers to teach a maximum of 15 alternative education students.
In contrast, Potter calls high school education "triage," with the goal of getting students to re-enter regular classes. It's a half-day program consisting of two, two and a half hour sections of up to 15 students each. Eligibility for both middle school and high school programs is determined by a committee of counselors, teachers and administrators.
Out of the 10 high school seniors in alternative education at AHS this school year, seven received diplomas. The others will need to reevaluate their options, which include summer school, and additional year or the AHSEP program.
The AHSEP program, which prepares students to take General Education Development (GED) exam, is referred by Potter and other administrators as a last resort for students, a type of alternative to alternative education. One of the goals of the alternative education program, said Potter, is to eliminate use of the GED entirely.
"In the meantime, we're going to provide them with every tool to be a successful member of society," said Potter.
There were 25 GED graduates for the 2008-09 school year, up eight from the previous year. Because students who receive their GED do not receive their diploma, they are considered drop-outs by New York state, which affects the graduation rate.
"We try everything we can to get a student to earn a regular diploma," said Potter.
Another part of the alternative education program is out of school suspension, which takes the place of an after school suspension program where teachers are paid extra to teach suspended students. In the new program, classes are taught at Centro Civico by a full-time teacher and aide using work provided by the regular program teachers so that the suspended students are provided mandatory instructional time off site.
Potter said the out of school suspension program has been one of the most successful pieces of the alternative education programs, which all work towards the goal of having improving the graduation rate.
The 100 drop-outs identified in The Business Review are from the 2004 cohort, and while Potter said there were "a few" dropouts this year, he said he couldn't provide an exact number.
"Some of those we're still trying to convince to come back to us," he said.
As the program progresses and expands, (it's adding two members of staff in the fall, funded by Contract for Excellence,) Potter said the dropout numbers at AHS can be expected to "decline rapidly."
"We still have growing pains ... we didn't catch all of them. I'm sure there are some that didn't get to our committee," said Potter.
A schoolwide Ninth Grade Academy that will be implemented next year at AHS also aims to boost the school. Part of Potter's responsibilities, not undertaken by GASD staff previously, is to have home visits with students who aren't attending school. In his visits, he tries to convince them that obtaining a diploma is an attainable goal.
"Understand that the programs are just a piece to a bigger pie," said Piasecki. "Parents have to buy into the fact that we need to get students to school."
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Contact Jessica Maher at jessica.maher@recordernews.com.
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