PANAMA CITY — At-risk students on the Beach may have an alternative way to receive educational credits soon.
School Board members could vote as early as April 22 to begin the process of opening an alternative school at Arnold High School. The school would serve at-risk beach students and expelled students from throughout the school district. The school would be located on Arnold’s campus, although the exact location hasn’t been determined.
Board member Steve Moss, in whose district the alternative school would be located, is concerned Arnold is moving toward a “one-stop shop” and a group of at-risk students may bring some safety concerns for parents.
Arnold already houses voluntary prekindergarten and Head Start programs. About 50 students are expected to enroll into the alternative school at its opening.
“Do you think we’re asking too much of Arnold High School?” Moss asked board members and district staff. “We’re doing a lot on one campus.”
Arnold Principal Keith Bland indicated the school could be accommodated on campus.
“We’re ready for challenges and it fits a need for what we have,” he said. “If it means students will be successful, we can handle it.”
The district would seek a one-year, $295,000 contract with Rader Group, an alternative school management company, if the motion comes before the board and is approved. The contract would be based on the amount of federal funds the district would have received with 50 students enrolled at the district.
‘Mental barrier’
Beach principals say the alternative school is needed.
“We see a lot of students frustrated and give up,” Bland said at a Tuesday morning workshop. “We talk to them about attending another school for credit recovery — Rosenwald — but there’s a mental barrier with crossing the bridge to go into town.”
According to district data presented at the workshop, the school on average referred about 22 students to Rosenwald High per year in the past five school years. At-risk students contribute to Arnold’s graduation rate and attendance levels.
“Credit recovery is always a need that we have,” Bland said.
Surfside Middle School and Breakfast Point Academy referred on average about 10 students to alternative middle school C.C. Washington per year over the past five years.
“In ’12-’13, at Surfside, we selected out of our student body some 14 students we identified who needed to come in to an alternative setting,” said Principal Sue Harrell. “Of those, only 11 were we able to convince.”
Although the statistic appeared to be a successful number, “until you think about what happened to the other three … they just disappeared,” she said.
The students dropped out of school instead of attending an alternative school located across the bridge, Harrell suggested.
“These parents [who] do not want their children crossing the bridge for educational purposes is not a myth,” she said.