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No Comments [ Add Comment ]A critical eye on Washington High
By Amy K. StewartGroup seeks improvements at alternative school in Ogden
OGDEN -- Ogden School District's Washington Alternative High School is under fire.
Ogden district leaders and three school board members met last week with Washington High administration to discuss school improvements.
Closing the school isn't out of the question, said district Superintendent Noel Zabriskie.
The meeting was orchestrated by school board member John Gullo. Scrutinizing Washington High has been one of his goals since his campaign.
Gullo says he believes too many Washington students are slipping through the cracks -- not gaining proper social skills and dropping out. And this is a concern in light of federal No Child Left Behind mandates that require all students succeed.
Eileen Nicholas, student and family services teacher specialist for Ogden district, agrees.
"The system is failing. I'm not saying we get rid of Washington. Well, I am saying get rid of Washington," Nicholas said. "Change the whole thing -- the way we do business.
"The system is a square box. Working inside it is difficult."
The group says more facts and hard data are needed. A committee is being formed to study Washington High issues.
The question of closing Washington arose a year ago during school board discussions on budget cuts. The district could save $300,000 by closing the school, district administrators said.
Washington High, which generally has about 250 students, is on the east side of the Ogden district campus at 20th Street and Monroe Boulevard.
As an alternative high school, it serves teens who choose not to attend their mainstream high schools. It offers alternatives to conventional education and emphasizes teaching students occupational and social skills, as well as literacy and communication.
Some of the students enter Washington High with attendance or discipline problems.
"We're getting a lot of kids off the streets and helping them get an education," said Principal Mitch Wilcox.
Some of the students don't graduate with a high school diploma but do earn an alternative high school diploma, such as the general equivalency diploma certificate.
A Washington High poll indicated 89 percent of the teens would not go back to their mainstream high schools if the alternative school were closed, Wilcox said.
"They would just drop out and get a job."
About 5 percent of the student body, which fluctuates between 200 to 300 each school year, officially drops out every school year to never return.
Some are dealing with being young parents. Others simply want to enter the work force. The 5 percent doesn't include students who move from the area, Wilcox said.
But Nicholas says Washington High kids need social skills and help getting a job -- not just a piece of paper.
"We need to get rid of the way we run this school," she said at Wednesday's meeting.
Don Belnap, Ogden school board president, said it's not the school's job to take on all of society's ills.
"These are not this school's concern," he said.
Nicholas retorted, "You know what? If you want to stay in public education in Ogden, it is our responsibility. We have got to find a way to deal with these children."
Belnap says he disagrees with comments that Washington High is failing students.
"You say 'failing'? I see success of some students in this school."
Wilcox says he agrees there is always room for improvement but defends the school.
"Washington is doing a great job with the resources we have and with the tough assignment we are given.
"These kids have different needs that are difficult to meet at the traditional schools. With our smaller learning environment, we can address these needs easier and better."
Gullo invited leaders with Youth Impact to join the meeting. Youth Impact is a local after-school outreach program for youth of diverse religious, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Gullo wants to address ideas on how Youth Impact can help Washington High.
But Youth Impact officials aren't exactly volunteering to take over the school.
"If we are charged with what schools do, we would not be successful with what we do," said Robb Hall, Youth Impact director.
"We're more of a support system, focusing on social skills and keeping the kids in school, and preparing them for life."
Gullo says he understands troubled teens. He used to be one. He was thrown out of high school right before graduation because he and his friends made dummies of the principal and vice principal and then burned them in effigy.
"They didn't think it was funny," he said.
The school needs to harness kids' energy and talents, Gullo said, and start doing things differently and better.
"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results," he said.
Zabriskie said after the meeting that he wants to scrutinize the Washington High issue.
"The first thing we need to do is gain an understanding of what's happening in society that is infringing upon a student's success and try to find ways that will help them succeed," he said.
"Schools and society are mirrors of each other. The problems that kids have at home come with them to school. They don't leave them at the door."
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