Alternative Education class proves cost, life effective

Thursday, November 3, 2016
Greencastle High School alternative education program teacher Doug Hudson (above, left) speaks with interim Superintendent Jeff Hubble during a three-hour block of class time on Oct. 26. Hudson and Hubble, along with others, have overseen the program that allowed 20 additional students to graduate in 2016 alone.
Banner Graphic/NICK WILSON

When a class offering students the opportunity to make up lost credits ended at the Area 30 Career Center in 2011, some determined educators at Greencastle High School decided to pick up the slack.

And with nearly 500 hard-earned credits distributed since, the high school’s relatively new alternative education program can now undoubtedly be seen as a road worth traveling.

Offering four separate programs to suit a wide variety of needs, the class is intended to serve “a diverse group of students who are in need of an alternative setting in order to earn GHS credits in order to graduate.”

Greencastle High School sophomore Devon Hicks studies intently during a three-hour block of the high school’s five-year-old alternative education program.
Banner Graphic/NICK WILSON

Some of those involved have been the Putnam County Community Foundation’s Community Development Director Dean Gambill, GHS Principal Russ Hesler and GCSC interim Superintendent Jeff Hubble. However, perhaps no one deserves more credit than former Area 30 instructor Doug Hudson, a Crawfordsville resident and 10-year educator within the Greencastle School Corporation who spends countless hours in the classroom and commits himself to serving students throughout holiday breaks.

“The (original class) was called Putnam County Alternative Education,” Hudson said. “It was available at Area 30 (to which) Cloverdale, Greencastle, North Putnam and South Putnam would send students. There was myself and I had a co-teacher, but that program went away when the Knoy Center started their night school program -- a lot of schools joined that consortium with Cloverdale.”

Hudson went on to say that Greencastle initially took part in the 21st Century Grant-funded programs at the Knoy Center, but later found an opportunity to house a separate, donation-based program within GHS that could serve a larger range of individuals and be regulated personally.

Hudson also met with GCSC administrators and another teacher with the goal of starting their own program.

“So Mr. Hesler, myself and another teacher got together and said ‘we want to start our own program,’” Hudson explained, noting Hubble’s support. “Because then we could keep everything in-house and make sure the rigor is there, and as you can see, throughout the years, we’ve continued to grow and we keep climbing.”

Interim-superintendent Hubble, who was present during the interview with the Banner Graphic, expounded on Hudson’s comments.

“What you see in these numbers are credits earned outside the traditional classroom,” Hubble said, noting that the credits earned within the alternative education program are those that were missed in some way via illness, expulsion, teen pregnancy, a death in the family or failing grades.

In accordance with the Indiana Department of Education, alternative education students state-wide must participate in the program for no less than three hours per day. Though special circumstances allow certain students to be present for less time, Hudson said the program at GHS “sets a goal for the state” by attempting to have each student earn two credits per semester.

Asked if students use free time or additional time to participate, Hudson said the program is flexible and can be personalized to fit the needs of each individual.

“I don’t know if it’s so much about time -- the counselors are really good about adjusting their schedules,” Hudson said. “If they have a study hall or maybe if they’re at Area 30 or if there’s a class that they don’t need to get their Core 40 diploma -- they can use those opportunities to come in here and do what they need to do.”

In only the 2015-16 school year, a total of 117 credits were earned by GHS students, allowing 20 students to graduate with their cohort. They may not be able to walk down the aisle on graduation day, but if enough credits are earned by Sept. 30 of the following school year, students are allowed to graduate with the correct class rather than be “held back.”

Programs offered within the alternative education program at GHS include:

• Alternative Education -- Students who cannot function in a “normal” classroom environment come for three hours per day and work at their own pace on subjects needed to earn a diploma.

• Credit Recovery -- Students come to the alternative classroom for one or more periods throughout the day to “recover” credits on subjects they failed in a traditional classroom setting.

• Night School -- A program held two nights per week for a total of four hours allowing any GHS student (or adult learner) to work on obtaining their GHS diploma.

• Summer Credit Recovery -- A program in the month of June allowing students who may not have finished a course in alternative education the opportunity to do so in a summer school setting.

Averaging a total of 75-80 students served per school year, each program has seen some considerable results: Alternative Education, 380 credits; Credit Recovery, 57 credits; Night School, 26 credits; and Summer Credit Recovery, 16 credits to bring the total since 2011 to 479 credits distributed.

Furthermore, a grant totaling $6,700 from the Putnam County Community Foundation’s Sherman and Maria Fund, alongside a donation from Jeff and Denise Sigworth in the amount of $200, was recently used to purchase 11 new Hewlett Packard desktop computers for the students to use.

For more information about the opportunities offered by the alternative education program at GHS, visit greencastle.k12.in.us, or contact the high school at 653-9711.

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