Re: [School Board] Winona Area Learning Center

Sat, 02 Feb 2002 08:08:18 -0800

I think we are going to find that closing Lincoln and moving Community Ed is going to be much more costly than we can afford, which isn't much in the first place.  I am in support of keeping neighborhood schools open but being reassigned a different task.  I want to use this listserve to make sure everyone is in agreement on what the motion intended last week.  There is at least two board members who voted yes that are questioning that motion.  I would rather we try to cover some of this ground before next Thursday so we don't spend valuable time reassessing what we intended.  Redistricting is part of this motion as we make room for Community Ed in other buildings.  I picture many more kids than the population in Rollingstone Elementary being affected.  Soooo, we keep neighborhood schools open but by the way, you aren't in this neighborhood any more.  We should be careful what we wish for.  We just may get it.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, February 02, 2002 9:14 AM
Subject: Re: [School Board] Winona Area Learning Center

1.  Is this part of the 'Close Lincoln-Keep Neighborhoods Schools Open-Bring Leased Programs In" plan which we directed admin to detail last Thursday? 
2.  If yes, what happens to the Rollingstone elementary kids?
3.  If yes,  what happens to Community Ed programs?
Thanks,
Sharon
 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2002 8:11 PM
Subject: [School Board] Winona Area Learning Center

The past week or so Brant and I have been looking into the Area Learning Center independently as well as jointly. You are aware of some of the concerns, the buildings are overflowing, community relations problems, law enforcement problems etc etc.

I sat in on a meeting with Dr. Hannon, Deb Moe, Chief Pomeroy and other law enforcement people last week concerning the student’s behavior outside of the building itself. A closed campus appears to be the best way to address this. Because of the cramped quarters, this would be difficult if not impossible. There have been numerous suggestions on where to move this program. One thought was to move it to the Senior High School in the industrial arts wing. Brant and I talked to Senior High administrators about that today. They were able to show us that this space would not be available. The physical space and bringing some of the behavior problems back into overcrowded class sizes is not the answer. The discussion went on about discipline being key to changing the behavior pattern of a number of these students. Discipline at a higher level than is administered now is impossible without a closed campus and an administrator on site to deal with these problems as they occur.

With that in mind, perhaps we could use the school board list serve over the next several days to see where each board member wants to go with this. I would start out the discussion with a recommendation that the ALC program be moved to Rollingstone. It would be a closed campus and a large percentage of the students would be bused to the site, keeping them there for the full school day. We have a few that are not adapting to the Big O atmosphere and could very well be less accepting to Rollingstone. I maintain we have too many kids that want to learn to be spending precious resources on individuals that go out of their way to defeat any attempt on teachers trying to teach them.

We have started the process for moving the administration out of Lincoln School. Whereever admin lands, it needs to be for an extended period of time. In my mind, any of the elementary schools, Middle School or the Senior High School is not a good fit. The school district owns the Big O cheap. It would be the easiest of all the buildings we have broached to retrofit for offices. Consider moving Eric and company here. Parking is adequate. Public visibility is good. What do the rest of you think???

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