It would be no surprise if the technical college were the most common
choice of WAPS students using the Postsecondary Enrollment Options. According to
the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, in 2004-2005, two-year community and
technical colleges drew 4,948 PSEO students, state universities drew 776, the
University of Minnesota drew 947 students, and private colleges drew 1,042.
Why do students attend institutions of higher education? A recent study
of PSEO students in the metro area by Joe Nathan and the Humphrey Institute of
Public Affairs indicated that 94 percent of students believed they learned more
in college classes than in their regular high school classes, 92 percent felt
they saved money, and 91 percent believed they saved time.
Craig makes an excellent point on the need for communities and schools to
work together in helping children with problems. This country is experiencing a
significant growth in the number of governmental and quasi-governmental agencies
that have joined school districts (sometimes with district encouragement,
sometimes without) in dealing with the wide array of issues that are involved in
the education of children. This joint activity is especially notable in big
cities.
With regard to the alternative learning centers, Minneapolis provides a
good example of the dispersion of educational responsibilities to the community.
Within the Minneapolis School District, 21 of the 27 alternative schools are
administered by community agencies under the auspices of the independent
Metropolitan Federation of Alternative Schools. Students remain enrolled in the
Minneapolis District, but the running of the schools, including the selection of
teachers and staff, is left to particular agencies. As you would expect,
students in these schools have difficulties whose resolution is believed to
require expertise and attention well beyond the competencies of the school
system itself. The ultimate success of these "Contract Alternative Schools" is
unknown, but the move reflects attempts to deal effectively with a
social problem that heretofore has been resistant to solution by school
districts themselves.
Roy Nasstrom
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2006 4:41
AM
Subject: Re: [Winona] alc
[Winona Online Democracy]
I thought I heard a WAPS admin. person say that the
majority of PSEO use was for the VoTech College. I have not idea how to
access that info. except contacting WAPS. I wish more school admin. and
Board members were on this listserv.
I am on the Comm. Educ. Advisory
Committee and I have been hearing about the plan to move much of their
operation into the old Big O, where the ALC is, for a long time. So, I
wasn't surprised by the news they were going to move and that ALC was going to
move. I know some school people did not want the ALC near small kids
programs and seemed to want it out of sight because of the bad PR with the
kids standing around on the street smoking, etc. So, some of the
possibilities considered were rejected for those reasons is my guess.
The place planned is by and near one the landlord already leases to the school
-- it is called the Greenhouse Program for spec. educ. EBD high school
kids. (Greenhouse simply refers to what the property used to be.)
In my opinion all the school programs should be smoke free. Kids at ALC
and Greenhouse are allowed to smoke and I sispect staff think banning it will
cause problems. I have heard that argument regarding adult psych. wards
in hospitals and the results of smoking bans has not resulted in
problems.
There are two more comments I wanted to make on
this topic.
- The State's system for funding public education is not good and not
reliable. A part of the system has School Boards treating property
taxation as a right and almost as an obligation to tax as much as the
Legislature allows. I'd guess that comes from all the squeezing
they've been subjected to and being told how wonderful the State is to ALLOW
them to put various items on the local tax levy. Counties and Cities
have been subject to tax levy limits (only allowed to go up x%) off and on
over the years. Every time Counties would complain about State
mandates the State would threaten levy limits -- basically saying shut up or
we will leave the mandates AND limit your ability to raise the money to fund
them. My point with this is that it appears to be in the culture of
public education in Minnesota that maximizing all possible property tax
revenue is an expectation and they are shocked that the public would
object. Politically it is a game that catches the children in the
middle. The Minnesota Legislature are experts at trying to make
funding decisions look like they are NOT their responsibility when in fact
it is their decisions that force the issue.
- And lastly, several people on this list have raised the primary question
of why we have an ALC, what programming do these children need and why have
kids been sent there or choose to go there. When resources get cut and
ability to handle tough situations is reduced, the pressure is on to move
the problems out of the mainstream. The Greenhouse, ALC, Leadership
Program, Day Treatment, out of town placement, home schooling and expulsion
are all actions that can be motivated by sheer survival for the basic
education needs of the majority. I think our community needs to work
together to find workable alternatives (within the school buildings and
outside them) for the variety of problems children bring to the table.
It is a two way street -- others being involved and schools being open to
that and all working to create a shared sense of the problems and their
solutions. Public schools are not use to others helping so it is a new
thing for them to be involved in cooperative efforts. Many will
disagree with me on this but that is my opinion based on my experiences and
this is in a community known for its wonderful track record of inter-agency
cooperation when compared to other places in Minnesota.
Craig Brooks
----- Original Message ---- From: Chris Nelson
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected]Sent: Tuesday,
January 24, 2006 09:23:50 Subject: [Winona] (no subject)
[Winona Online Democracy]
|
Leslie made a point about the "VoTech" now being a 2 year
college. What about PSEO at Winona State? Couldn't that be
an option for those that "don't want to go to college"?
"Students who go to ALCs do want to complete high school, but have
not been successful at doing it in a more conventional educational
environment"
Leslie, what percent graduate from the ALC compared to the
WSHS?
Chris Nelson |
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