DeSoto ISD school board rejects dropout recovery plan

by Daphne Brown of of DeSoto TODAY

DeSoto School Boardmembers debated, and ultimately rejected 3-2, a credit recovery plan aimed at assisting students who drop out between middle school and graduation.

Levatta Levels, DISD assistant superintendent for student support services, said the fee-based program, which could have been implemented as early as January 2009, would not be the ultimate solution for struggling students but would have provided a more hands-on approach to those who needed and wanted it. The district's dropout data, collected over the last 2-3 years, indicated such a program could have reacclimated identified students back into the district.

Credit-deficient students, currently attending classes as far away as Mesquite, could benefit from one or two classes offered in English, math, science and Spanish. Seven teachers would have been needed to begin the program, at a start-up cost of $35,000. The district would have utilized a portion of its high school allotment funds. Students would have been charged $100 for classes offered four nights a week between 4-8 p.m.

Boardmembers launched a profusion of questions at administrators. Boardmember Dee Trimble wanted to know if any other school districts had similar programs and if they began as early in the afternoon as DeSoto's proposed program.

Levels said North Dallas, Mesquite, Carter and Kimball high schools offer similar programs, which DeSoto students attend. Also, Levels said other programs do not start as early as this one would have, but the others don't incorporate the essential counseling component that this one would have featured.

“This one would be more personal and parents would appreciate not having their kids driving across town at night,” Levels said.

Students could have taken classes from 4-6 p.m. and/or 6-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, with time available to eat and meet with counselors directly after school.

DeSoto School Board Vice President Sharon Sternes wanted to know the district's latest dropout figure. Levels said the district's dropout rate is 0.7 percent.

“The dropout rate doesn't end with high school. Students don't always dropout as seniors, some dropout between seventh and 12th grade,” she said.

DeSoto Schools Superintendent Lloyd Treadwell interjected that the dropout and completion rates are different figures. While the district's dropout rate is 0.7 percent, its completion rate is 94 percent. Treadwell used the example that if 3,000 students started the ninth grade and only 94 percent completed, 180 students would be eligible for the proposed program.

DeSoto School Boardmember Curt Krohn said it was deceptive to have both numbers, completion and graduation rates.

Treadwell said Cedar Hill High School, for instance, has a completion rate of 78 percent.

“We are doing extremely well,” he said, adding that the Texas Education Agency dictates a district's dropout rate. “We cannot mess with it. Ours is very, very low in DeSoto because we do a good job at tracking our students.

“Our completion rate is excellent, but even if it's only 18 kids, let's help those 18 kids,” Treadwell said.

DeSoto School Board President Don Gant pointed out there were 70 students who did not walk across the stage.

“This program would have eventually helped those students,” Gant said.

Krohn said, “This hasn't been presented as a credit-recovery plan but a dropout recovery plan.”

Levels differentiated between the programs.

“Credit recovery is very independent. It works, but this is for someone who needs hands-on, live, Q & A,” she said.

Krohn also questioned the type of counseling that would be available because it sounded as if it would be more behavioral. She assured the board that the high school's five counselors are knowledgeable and well-trained but don't have the time to develop new relationships. Additional monies would be available to any teacher or counselor, currently inside or outside of the district, willing to take on the additional responsibilities of getting involved with night-school classes, Levels said.

DeSoto School Boardmember Don McKinley said any time a district could keep a student in school and encourage getting a diploma benefits the student, as well as society, but he did have a few questions.

“The $35,000 could be seed money for something else,” McKinley said. “What are the parameters of the high school allotment funds?”

Donna Crenshaw, the district's chief academic officer, said district's utilize the funds for students' success in high school and college preparation.

“I like the concept, but one concern I have is how far we stretch our counselors,” he said. “How much work can we stick on them before there's a breaking point?”

McKinley continued saying that the program sounded like an interesting endeavor but not coupled with budget challenges and struggles to fill high school math positions, for instance.

Gant said after all of the discussion, the proposed program still looked like a credit recovery.

“Credit recovery is computer-based and something we call Plato. It's totally individualized,” Levels explained. “Twilight, evening or night school involves a physical teacher, standing there with hands-on learning because if a student failed through regular instruction then they need something different.”

Trimble said he thought it was a worthwhile program.

“I think once we get into it, it might not work entirely the way we want it to,” he said. “I want some feedback.”

Gant agreed with Trimble despite some apprehension, including the $35,000 which he wanted to know was annually or by semester. He suggested the board approve the program with the stipulation of having administrators provide a first-semester report on any glitches before the board decided to proceed further.

Gant and Trimble supported the program. Boardmembers Sternes, Krohn and McKinley voted against. DeSoto School Boardmembers Rhonda Lemons and Kenzie Moore were not present for the vote.

Following the vote, Treadwell said he was not comfortable with the outcome.

“We offer $3,000, $5,000 and $10,000 signing bonuses to fill positions and we are making every effort to find teachers. I wish I had the resources to recruit for talent like Jerry Jones does. I wish I did, but I don't,” Treadwell said.

The next regularly schedule board meeting is 6:30 p.m. Dec. 8 at the School Board Administration Building, 200 E. Belt Line Road in DeSoto.