School Board Restructures The Alternative High School Program

By Susan Coney

The Board of Education approved the restructuring of the alternative high school plan at its most recent meeting on Wednesday, July 6.

Currently the alternative high school program has been temporarily run out of the C wing corridor of Newtown Middle School and was taught by two full-time teachers. The revised program, The Newtown High School TAP (The Afternoon Program) would be located on the Newtown High School campus after the close of the regular school day. This would allow staff and students access to a range of resources such as the career center, computer and science labs, the Library Media Center, and the gymnasium.

TAP will meet after regular school hours for four days a week, three hours per day, for 40 weeks. The classes will meet for 45 minutes. The calendar for TAP will follow the same schedule as that of the Newtown district.

The four core disciplines of English, math, social studies, and science will be taught four days a week for 45 minute periods each day. Teachers will hold certification in the subject area they teach. Several teachers will be teaching classes and the teachers and classes will vary according to the individual student’s needs. Teachers will be compensated at the rate of $40 per hour, which allows for a 15-minute preparation period and a 45-minute teaching session. This yields a cost of $5,760 per section per year.

Ten sections would cost $57,600 and 15 sections would cost $86,400.

In addition, one teacher will assume the role of coordinator of the program at the stipend rate of $14,000 per year. That teacher will be involved in all aspects of coordinating and scheduling the program and will be present at the school when classes are in session. The combined coordinator and subject teacher’s salaries would cost $71,600 for ten sections or $100,400 for 15 sections. No additional benefits, such as medical coverage, would need to be applied, which would yield a savings.

Currently the program is taught by two teachers with budgeted salaries and benefits of $120,900.

The $15,000 in the budget for classroom rent [the plan previously called for renting a facility to house the program] will be used instead to pay transportation costs that may be associated with running the program. By placing the program at Newtown High School the students have all of the material advantages, and the district saves money by not having to pay rent. Superintendent Evan Pitkoff said, “We have to stay in the financial perimeter we have allowed in the budget and this allows for that. We would provide transportation for those students who need it. The objective of the program is for them to obtain their diploma.”

TAP is designed for students who are not on track for graduation and for whom other interventions have not been successful. The students are a minimum of 16 years old and have attended at least one year of high school. TAP course offerings will be designed to meet the credit deficiencies of the enrolled students and will lead to the granting of the Newtown High School diploma. TAP students will meet the oral and written competencies consistent with Newtown High School graduation standards. In addition to the course work and credit bearing activities TAP will include a vocational component of support and training for successful employment.

 Interim Principal Patricia Llodra said, “It is for all students who are credit deficient. We need to assess what each individual student needs once they are identified. We work to provide the students with strategies for work and real life. These are for different types of learners that don’t fit with the traditional program or those that are not on track with their peers. This population is at a greater risk for dropping out than the rest of the high school students. It is an outreach effort to keep them in class and have them complete. We are reaching out to the kids who have dropped out or have talked about dropping out.”

 Assistant Principal Catherine Ostar has been diligently working on the restructuring of the program. She said, “We’ve been working on this for a very long time and studying many models. It is an exciting concept and we think it will be very successful.” Ms Ostar went on to say that the class sizes would remain small with no more than 12 students per class. Last year enrollment in the alternative high school was 11 students in the program. She went on to say that if the new TAP school was offered 12 students have committed to the program and ten additional students expressed interest. The program would have the capability to service up to 40 students.

TAP classes will be small in size with curriculum, instruction and assessment tailored to promote growth of content knowledge and skills of these unique learners.

Board of Education chairman Elaine McClure said, “I think it’s wonderful. I feel blessed that Pat [Llodra] and Cathy [Ostar] have worked so hard on it. I’m all in favor of going with it.”