EDUCATIONAL SERVICE DELIVERY
This chapter reviews the educational service delivery of the Rockwall Independent School District (RISD) in the following sections:
- A. Curriculum and Instruction
- B. Organization and Staffing
- C. Student Performance
- D. Gifted and Talented Education
- E. Special Education
- F. Bilingual/English as a Second Language Education
- G. Career and Technology Education
- H. Title I/State Compensatory Education
- I. Guidance and Counseling
- J. Alternative Education Program
J. ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM
RISD created an alternative education program that houses three different components at the Rockwall Alternative School (RAS) in one site. The Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) is the program for students who have had chronic or severe behavior problems at high school. Choice High School is an alternative academic program that serves the educational needs of young adults for whom a traditional setting is not appropriate. The Short Term Alternative Program serves students in grades 6 through 12 who are assigned to the program for two weeks because of inappropriate behavior at their home school.
The Alternative School is located in a separate building adjacent to the Utley Freshman Center. The school has one main building that includes administrative offices and one classroom/lab setting. Four other portable buildings complete the school. Choice High School uses the main classroom/lab and two classrooms in one portable. DAEP uses two portables. Short-term Discipline is in a separate building and operates in one large room. The school schedules time for all the programs in the main computer lab. For the most part, the school separates the students in each of these programs from the other program students.
RISD established Choice High School in 1994 to serve students who, for various reasons, are unable to participate in a regular high school program and who are at-risk of dropping out of school. Choice High School serves students 17 to 21 years old. Students must provide recommendations when applying to enter the program. Students consider attendance to Choice High School a privilege.
Choice High School offers a proficiency-based learning system teachers individualize for each student. Students progress at their own rate using computer-assisted instructional technology, textbooks and small group or one-on-one instructional strategies. Choice High School uses the American Preparatory Institute curriculum and the PLATO Learning System (a computer-assisted learning resource).
American Preparatory Institute offers a high school diploma program that is recognized by TEA. The institute's curriculum is individualized, competency-based and delivered through a student-directed instructional system. Students must demonstrate 70 percent mastery of course content to receive credits. Academic courses may not include electives or upper-level courses offered at area schools. The academic program requires a minimum of 22 credits to graduate. Students must earn a minimum of half a credit a month and pass all sections of the TAAS. Choice High School requires its students to attend school four hours a day, five days a week.
The PLATO Learning System is a computer-assisted instructional program that also offers credit recovery. Students take an online assessment that the system scores and evaluates to create the individualized tutorial within the program. When a student logs onto the system, the program guides the student to the next step in the tutorial. The system assesses the student's progress along the way until the student finishes the course. Teachers can monitor student performance by checking progress on the various lessons completed. Teachers can also use PLATO for tutorial purposes.
As an academic school, Choice High School serves approximately 200 students each year. The students are self-motivated, willing to follow the school's rules and procedures and do not require disciplinary actions. The school has a staff of three full-time teachers and one part-time teacher. The alternative academic school shares a full-time counselor, principal and secretary with the other two alternative education programs at Choice High School. A certified teacher serves special education students as needed. To be admitted to the alternative academic program, a student must be:
- in grades 9-12 and between 16-20 years of age;
- or 18 years of age and have 20 credits and wanting to only attend the two-hour program;
- on the district's list of at-risk students or meeting state criteria for identification of at-risk students;
- seeking a high-school diploma;
- willing to attend two to four hours per day;
- enrolled in two courses at a time;
- wiling to attend five days per week;
- willing to follow a curriculum that is module driven requiring self motivation; and
- willing to complete five half-credit courses within each semester.
Students must sign a contract before the district will admit them to Choice High School. Parents of a student whose age places them under the state's mandatory attendance requirements must also sign a contract acknowledging their role in the education of their child and agree to support their efforts through frequent parent/teacher meetings.
DAEP, the district's long-term discipline management program, is also located at Rockwall Alternative School. RISD places students in this program for offenses listed in Chapter 37 of TEC or RISD Code of Conduct Offenses pertaining to the safety of others. The district created this school to comply with the Safe Schools Act that the Legislature designed to make Texas public schools safe from violent students.
Students must be in grades 7 through 12 to be admitted to DAEP. Minimum length of placement is the remainder of the semester in which the student moves to the program. Students placed during the second and fourth nine-weeks may remain for the following semester. Students remain on the PEIMS roll at the school that sent them to DAEP. The hours for this school are 8:45 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. each school day. RISD provides transportation for these students on a separate bus or parents may provide transportation. Individuals may drive themselves to school after two weeks if they have no discipline infractions. Six full-time employees (FTEs) comprise the staff at this school and they use the same curriculum as Choice High School.
The RISD student discipline policy provides specific guidelines describing offenses that result in DAEP placement. Exhibit 2-59 presents the types of offenses that can result in placement in the DAEP and the number of students who are in DAEP for these offenses.
Exhibit 2-59 Source: RISD Alternative School Principal.
RISD AEP Placements
2001-02
Type of Offense Number of
Placements
in AEPDisruptive behavior * Conduct punishable as a felony 6 Assault or terroristic threat * Possessed, sold, or used marijuana or other controlled substance 10 Possessed, sold, used, or was under the influence of an alcoholic beverage 17 Persistent Misbehavior 63 Disrespect to teacher/principal 6 Skipping Class * Misconduct on Campus * Look a-like weapon * Other infractions 26 Total Placements 140
*Indicates five or fewer students.The Short Term Discipline Management Component of the RISD Alternative School is located at Rockwall Alternative School but is in a separate classroom. This program serves students in grades 7 through 12 who have committed general misconduct violations. The major offense resulting in short-term placement is persistent misbehavior. The length of stay is 10 school days and the student remains on the PEIMS roll of the sending school. The home school where the student regularly attends sends a curriculum for the student. Students may ride the Alternative School bus or parents may drop off and pick up the students. RISD allows no student drivers in this program. One full-time teacher and one aide staff this program.
RISD has dedicated considerable resources to provide a quality alternative education program. The district staffs all three programs at Rockwall Alternative School with certified teachers to meet the academic needs of the students. The Rockwall Alternative School staff includes 11 full-time teachers, one instructional aide, one secretary and one principal.
Exhibit 2-60 shows the operating costs of Rockwall Alternative School for each of the last two years and the budgeted amount for 2002-03.
Exhibit 2-60 Source: RISD Alternative School Principal.
RISD Alternative Education Program Expenditures
2000-01 through 2002-03
Budget
Category2000-01
Actual2001-02
Actual2002-03
BudgetedSalaries and benefits $556,847 $526,652 $700,308 General supplies $10,305 $4,960 $10,400 Travel and other $1,227 $1,786 $7,250 Capital outlay $3,899 $36,458 $42,144 Total $578,279 $575,522 $760,102 Exhibit 2-61 shows the costs for Rockwall Alternative School staff alone.
Exhibit 2-61 Source: RISD Alternative School Principal.
RISD Alternative School Staff and Combined Salary by Position
2002-03
Position Administrators Teachers Counselor Aides Secretaries Total 1 11 1 1 1 15 $68,485 $438,450 $53,260 $30,430 $18,330 $608,955 Each component of the RISD alternative education program has certified teachers for each of the four core academic subject areas: English, mathematics, social studies and science. Four FTE teachers serve students in the core subjects in the DAEP and 3.5 FTEs serve students in the core subjects at Choice High School.
Exhibit 2-62 shows expenditures for alternative programs in RISD and peer districts. RISD has the second lowest expenditure per student for alternative programs.
Exhibit 2-62 Source: Surveys conducted with peer districts and RISD Alternative School principal, December 2002.
Total and Per Pupil Expenditures for Alternative Programs
RISD and Peer Districts
2001-02
District Enrollment Average
Daily
EnrollmentNumber of
Full Time
TeachersTotal
ExpendituresPer
Pupil
ExpenditureCoppell 104 44 4 $387,148 $8,799 Allen 138 45 8 $576,249 $4,175 Eanes 103 52 5 $216,852 $4,170 Frisco 217 34 9 $62,809 $2,894 RISD 375 76 11 $578,279 $1,542 McKinney 2,476 96 15 $1,101,329 $444 Although RISD's enrollment continues to grow, the enrollment at the Long and Short Term Discipline programs continues to decline. In 2001-02, total enrollment in the Long and Short Term Discipline programs was 141. This is a decrease of 54 students from the 2000-01 enrollment.
Choice High School enrolled 234 students in 2001-02, and 115 students for the 2002-03 as of November 2002. Average daily enrollment for RAS is 76. The review team calculates RAS's teacher to student ratio, based on salary alone, as 1:7.
FINDING
RISD ensures that all students at Rockwall Alternative School receive guidance services for their unique situations by providing a full-time counselor exclusively to the school. Rockwall Alternative School, evaluated under the Alternative Education Accountability Rating System by TEA, received an accountability rating of "Acceptable" in 2002 based on TAAS scores of grade 10 students, attendance, dropout rate and percent of credits earned by long-term students. The comprehensive duties of the Rockwall Alternative School counselor are:
- Individual Planning: introducing and orientating new students and parents, making student schedules, monitoring credits for graduation, entering grades on transcripts, updating College and Career Resource Library, assisting students with scholarship applications, consulting with parents, teachers and principal regarding student progress;
- Responsive Services: counseling individuals, making referrals to outside agencies for students and parents, managing pregnancy related services, consulting with parents, teachers, and principal where appropriate and assisting the Juvenile Probation Officers to monitor student attendance and grades;
- Guidance: providing resource materials for teachers for district character education program, purchasing material for DMC behavior program, coordinating groups for DMC students and facilitating classroom guidance; and
- Support Services: serving as chairperson or member of various committees (504, CARE, LPAC, CIC, ARD, Attendance), acting as campus test coordinator, providing in-service training for teachers, identifying at-risk students, GED Chief Examiner, writing monthly article for Counselor Connections Newsletter, completing monthly time studies for counselors and filling in for principal as needed for discipline, truancy court and drug-dog searches.
The district implemented programmatic improvements in the DAEP in 2001-02 that allow students to take more than four basic courses and a self-discipline course. Before the improvements students could not complete enough credits to be academically successful while they attended Rockwall Alternative School. This new program allows students to have eight periods. Rockwall Alternative School offers students individualized counseling for scheduling so that their academic program will progress towards graduation in a timely manner.
In addition to the four basic core academic subjects offered through PLATO and the API Curriculum, both Choice High School and the DAEP now offer a variety of electives to their enrolled students. Choice High School offers Family and Career, Parenting, COOP, Psychology and Keyboarding courses. The DAEP offers Sociology, Individual and Family Living, Child Development, Reconnecting Youth, Record Keeping and Keyboarding programs. The addition of these electives has allowed students to earn sufficient credits while enrolled at Rockwall Alternative School.
COMMENDATION
RISD Alternative School offers each enrolled student individualized guidance counseling to meet the student's identified needs and to promote completion of the student's high school graduation requirements.
FINDING
RISD does not have a specific program in place to address the behavioral/discipline needs of students so that they will not experience the same problems that initially caused their placement at Rockwall Alternative School. As a result, the recidivism rate for students who were in the alternative school in 2001-02 is 14 percent.
RISD conducts a transitional meeting with each DAEP student eligible to return to his or her home school. A transitional facilitator, Rockwall Alternative School counselor, the Rockwall Alternative School principal, a home school administrator or counselor and the student meet to discuss the transitional process. If the committee approves the student's release from Rockwall Alternative School, the transitional facilitator follows up with visits to the student's home school each semester.
The principal indicated that these students have emotional and behavioral problems that lead to their return to Rockwall Alternative School. He also explained that DAEP does not offer a specific program to address the severe issues these students are experiencing. RISD offers students a program entitled Reconnecting Youth. The school's discipline teachers provide the instruction for this program. The school provides the program through a partnership with an organization called the Phoenix House. Reconnecting Youth serves as the curriculum for self-discipline and does contain an anger management component, but is not addressing the students with severe problems.
At the Christa McAullife Learning Center in Richardson ISD, teachers receive training for handling students who exhibit behavior and discipline problems. The school resource officer and a conciliation specialist from the U.S. Department of Justice provide the training. The recidivism rate for the McAullife School remains under 10 percent each year. The school resource officer describes the training as Conflict and Crisis Intervention for Students.
The school resource officer works with teachers at the school to teach them how to recognize factors that lead up to conflict, bullying, suicide and dysfunctional ways of dealing with anger. The resource officer provides teachers with positive processes for dealing with students who exhibit signs of needing help. The conciliation specialist comes to the school on a regular schedule to work with students to teach them the steps to positive conflict resolution. The school also teaches students how to get along with other students and how to deal with anger. These two programs made a positive difference for the students and teachers at the school.
Recommendation 16:
Offer staff development and student training programs at RISD Alternative School that address the needs of returning students with emotional and behavioral problems.
Offering a program at the Rockwall Alternative School will help staff members address the behavioral needs of these students who will be released from the school. These students demonstrate that they have needs that cause compliance problems in the regular program and that they need help to learn to deal with these problems. Staff development and student training combined should offer solutions to these problems.
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND TIMELINE
1. The Rockwall Alternative School principal meets with the staff at the school to review incident data and discipline violations to look for trends in problems for released students. September 2003 2. The principal and staff of the Rockwall Alternative School investigate several consultants who offer training to address the problems identified. October - December 2003 3. The principal submits a draft of the program to the assistant superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. January 2004 4. The assistant superintendent approves the program and directs the Rockwall Alternative School principal to include the cost in the budget for 2004-05. February 2004 5. The principal of the Rockwall Alternative School includes the costs in the budget. March 2004 6. The board approves the budget, and the Rockwall Alternative School principal implements the plan. August 2004 7. The staff of the Rockwall Alternative School evaluates the plan twice yearly to address changing data and to determine if the plan is making a difference. Ongoing FISCAL IMPACT
Contracted services funds will be needed to provide staff development for all teachers at Rockwall Alternative School. Estimated costs are $250 (plus expenses) per day each for two consultants to come to the school at least four times per year. The total annual cost will be $3,000 ($250 per day x four days x two consultants +$1,000 annual expenses for the consultants).
Recommendation 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Offer staff development and student training programs at RISD Alternative School that address the needs of returning students with emotional and behavioral problems. $0 ($3,000) ($3,000) ($3,000) ($3,000)