District to offer new alternative education programs next year

The school district will offer in-house, alternative education programs next year to students who aren't succeeding in traditional classrooms under a plan the Beaufort County Board of Education unanimously approved Tuesday night.

The on-site programs, at the county's four high schools and two of its middle schools, will serve students who are disruptive, disengaged, failing academically or persistently in violation of school rules.

A separate program for serious criminal violators in danger of expulsion will be housed at the District Instructional Support Center in Beaufort and enroll a maximum of 30 students, said Cynthia Hayes, student services officer for the school district.

The on-site model replaces Right Choices. A committee of school administrators formed last fall to evaluate that program found it does not meet students' academic needs nor has it succeeded in modifying disruptive behavior.

Students will stay better connected to their home schools under the new model, superintendent Valerie Truesdale said.

Alternative programs will be housed at Robert Smalls and Hilton Head middle schools.

High schools will offer night classes for juniors and seniors who are over-age or at-risk of dropping out.

Day programs will also be offered to students with behavior or academic problems.

Students with histories of discipline problems will be referred to the programs by school administrators and participate in a character education program in addition to their academic classes.

Board members agreed Tuesday that Right Choices should be replaced. Several members, however, questioned elements of the new model and asked staff how it planned to track its effectiveness.

Several details of the new model are still being worked out, administrators responded.

"We know we have something that is not effective now," board chairman Fred Washington Jr. said. "... If you're looking for perfection with this, we're not going to have it. We have to do as much as we can, understanding there are questions we have to answer as we move forward."

The 19 teachers and behavior management specialists now at Right Choices will move to the on-site programs, and about seven more teachers will be hired, Hayes said. She said no budget has been developed, but she expects the cost of hiring additional teachers will be the only major increase.