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| Trustees debate seventh grade intervention idea |
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| Written by Maddy Houk | Patterson Irrigator | |
| Wednesday, 25 June 2008 | |
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At a glance
Also at the school board meeting:
A proposed program at Creekside Middle School would work with seventh-graders who struggle with school to help them get on track. In a lively discussion during the June 16 Patterson Unified School District board meeting, trustees debated whether it would be fair to start up the Academy Program in the face of budget cuts. The topic was only discussed and did not come to a vote. It will be presented at the July 7 board meeting. Shawn Posey and Alberto Velarde, principals of Creekside Middle and Del Puerto High schools, explained how the Academy Program would cater to students who need help to improve their behavior, grades or attendance. Administrators said selected students would get one-on-one help from teachers and counselors over a 90-day period before going back to regular classes. “The idea is not to stay in this class,” Posey said. “The idea is to get them back up to speed and become our future leaders.” Annual expenses for 20 students and staff — including teachers, a counselor and a resource officer — total $77,000, with $59,000 of that paid for with state and federal money. That leaves an $18,000 balance that would come from Patterson Unified School District’s general fund. Over six months, the school board and administrators have cut the general-fund budget by more than $1 million in the face of state budget cuts for education in the 2008-09 school year. Trustee Bruce Kelly reminded the board of the cutbacks and warned against new spending. “When we make a plan, we should stick to it,” Kelly said. “It’s not fair to the people who accepted early retirements. What happened to the plan we had? We have to do this at the right time, and this is not the right time.” Velarde, though, said instituting the program would help students who are struggling. “We have to focus,” Velarde said. “We are doing this for the kids.” Kelly countered that it still involves spending general-fund money. “We always say, ‘This is for the kids,’” Kelly said. “We need to have control over this.” Struggling boys and girls would be referred to the Academy Program by school staff, a parent or an attendance review team and then approved by the principal and a school site team. Students would study during the day and after school in math, language arts, history, science and physical-education classes. They would be required to satisfy academic requirements by keeping a C average, maintain satisfactory behavior by having no discipline referrals to the school office and by not disrupting class, and attend school 95 percent of the time. Parents or guardians must verify all absences and must show a doctor’s note for any lengthy absences because of illness, and they must attend student conferences. In turn, Creekside staff would talk with parents each week and provide weekly counselor support, character-education training and study-skills training for the students, along with academic classes. Though the proposal was informational only and was not voted on, most school board members favored it. Susan Scheuber, Barbara Hartsell and Gilbert Lujan said it would create positive results for seventh-graders. Lujan said the board is committed to providing the best possible ways to help children get ahead. “It (the Academy Program) comes with a lot of risks and some challenges,” Lujan said. “That’s what we’re here for, to be flexible, open-minded and do the best we can.” Board president Ruben Piña reminded the trustees to proceed with caution. “It’s a great program, and it looks good,” Piña said. “We cannot change the rules in the middle of the game. If we’re going to have a program, let’s plan for it.” To reach Maddy Houk at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail her at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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