Greenwood Leflore County School Superintendent James Johnson-Waldington presented a proposal Thursday for an “alternative education program” that will help encourage success for students at all levels of academic achievement.
“We see in the classroom, more often than not, teachers teaching to the middle of the curve,” he said at a special called meeting of the school board. “Education is the same way ... and the reason for this proposal is to ensure the Greenwood Leflore Consolidated District has viable educational opportunities for all students.”
To this end, the superintendent expanded Thursday on his proposal for middle and early college to address the district’s graduation and dropout rates.
Earlier, Johnson-Waldington proposed a program giving more students opportunities to earn college credit. On Thursday, he discussed adding accelerated placement courses, a credit recovery program that allows a more broad analysis for eligibility, an apprenticeship program, a GED program, ACT preparation and a driver’s education course.
The superintendent met Thursday with representatives of Mississippi Valley State University and Mississippi Delta Community College to discuss opportunities for early college courses and dual enrollment for those students who show aptitude. Mentioned in this discussion were those students recently honored for scoring well on state and college entrance exams.
The GED program would be geared toward students who have fallen behind, whether for academic performance or behavioral issues.
“If there is something educational behind their name, it makes them more marketable,” he said. “It gives them an opportunity to be able to do some things in life and society they might not be able to do.”
Student who quit school but whose graduating classes have not yet matriculated would be eligible.
Students who have been or are currently out of school due to disciplinary issues as well as those who are just behind academically also would be able to participate, subject to criteria set forth by the board.
GED instruction would be offered for three hours a day, five days a week. An additional hour would be added for offerings such as ACT prep.
“I want everyone to be able to take the ACT,” Johnson-Waldington said, “So now they’re not only marketable for a job but also marketable to institutions of higher learning.”
Additionally, the program would include Major Clarity, a college and career readiness program that would allow students to experience virtually what it would be like to pursue a certain career path.
Mary Johnson, the district’s director of curriculum, said the program would extend beyond the required seventh grade to help students in high school as well.
Johnson-Waldington included in his proposal a pairing of the Major Clarity program with the Mississippi Apprenticeship Program (MAP), which would allow for practical application of Major Clarity. LaShonda Barnes, apprenticeship expansion specialist with the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, said students in this program would be allowed to learn more skills while earning wages.
“Whether or not students may receive college credit would depend on how the district makes its curriculum (for dual enrollment and early or middle college), but MAP would build around the needs of the district and students,” she said.
The accelerated placement courses would function alongside the credit recovery courses to help students catch back up to their proper graduating classes, with the stipulation that they meet requirements set forth by administration.
Johnson-Waldington also asked to include a driver’s education course and initiative to help students become registered voters.
He laid out his vision for students leaving the district: “They’re going to have the GED; the ACT, so if they decide they want to use it, we’ve given them that opportunity; Major Clarity, and maybe they’ll choose something they want to do; (and) drivers education, so now they can go to those places they need to go to or to a job and then also getting them voter registration cards.”
“We owe it to our students to be able to have this for them — to get them the best education we possibly can,” he concluded.
- Contact Katherine Parker at 662-581-7239 or kparker@gwcommonwealth.com.
