MONROE - Students in Monroe High School's Bauer Learning Center who attended the Alternative Charter School in 2012-13 had, on average, an increase in absences and a decrease in GPA last year, but test data suggest they're doing better in other ways.
"They're skills are improving at a much faster rate at the BLC than at the charter school," said Joe Monroe, the district's director of pupil services.
Monroe presented the data for the school board at Monday's meeting. It included the changes over two years for absentee rates, GPA, discipline referrals and growth in test scores for 31 students, all of whom moved from the charter school to the BLC last year after the charter school closed.
The tests come from the ACT's Educational Planning and Assessment System.
Of the 31 students, 12 had usable test data from 2012-13 and 10 had data from 2013-14. Monroe measured their EPAS growth from 2012-13 at an average of -.42. In their first year at the BLC, the 10 students with usable data had an average EPAS growth of 1.8, a difference of 2.22.
Office discipline referrals also changed over the two school years. Twenty-seven of the students had data available from both years. On average, referrals decreased by 2.3, but a few individuals showed a much more dramatic change. One student, who was referred to the office for discipline 37 times over one year at the charter school, received only 4 over the last school year in the BLC. Two other students received around 10 fewer referrals at the BLC.
With such a small data set, Monroe cautioned against making too many conclusions from the current numbers.
"I'm careful not to attribute too much to this," he said. "But it suggests we're moving in the right direction."
He said he thinks the improvement comes from a higher lever of vigor in instruction and higher expectations at the BLC compared to the charter school. He also noted there are more resources available at the BLC.
District Administrator Cory Hirsbrunner added that she liked seeing the BLC students come together with the rest of the MHS student body - something charter students wouldn't have been able to do.
"It was neat to see the students able to take part in the Homecoming activities," she said.
But with absences up 4 percent among the 27 students who had numbers from both years, Monroe acknowledged there's room for improvement.
"The program is nowhere near perfect," he said. He and other staff members are brainstorming ideas on how to bring attendance numbers up.
They're going to try out some "neat things" some of the teachers came up with, he said.
At a school board meeting on Aug. 25, Monroe brought the first round of numbers to the board along with an update on how the students were transitioning from the charter school to the BLC.
"We really need to think of a hook for kids coming to school," he said, when school board members asked about the absences. He used the example of a student-run coffee shop - an idea that had been in the works before changes to nutrition standards made it unviable.
Vocational programs or something else that would get the kids out in the community could better engage them, Monroe suggested. He also recommended surveying the students themselves to see what they feel they need.
"We really need to invest time into figuring out how to do better for these kids," he said, adding that many of the students come from "tough conditions," and some have fundamental needs that aren't being met.
The center currently serves 18 students who have the majority of their classes there. Some other students use the BLC for one or two classes, Monroe said, but spend the rest of their time in the larger high school.
He said he will be returning to the board with another update before the semester is over.
"They're skills are improving at a much faster rate at the BLC than at the charter school," said Joe Monroe, the district's director of pupil services.
Monroe presented the data for the school board at Monday's meeting. It included the changes over two years for absentee rates, GPA, discipline referrals and growth in test scores for 31 students, all of whom moved from the charter school to the BLC last year after the charter school closed.
The tests come from the ACT's Educational Planning and Assessment System.
Of the 31 students, 12 had usable test data from 2012-13 and 10 had data from 2013-14. Monroe measured their EPAS growth from 2012-13 at an average of -.42. In their first year at the BLC, the 10 students with usable data had an average EPAS growth of 1.8, a difference of 2.22.
Office discipline referrals also changed over the two school years. Twenty-seven of the students had data available from both years. On average, referrals decreased by 2.3, but a few individuals showed a much more dramatic change. One student, who was referred to the office for discipline 37 times over one year at the charter school, received only 4 over the last school year in the BLC. Two other students received around 10 fewer referrals at the BLC.
With such a small data set, Monroe cautioned against making too many conclusions from the current numbers.
"I'm careful not to attribute too much to this," he said. "But it suggests we're moving in the right direction."
He said he thinks the improvement comes from a higher lever of vigor in instruction and higher expectations at the BLC compared to the charter school. He also noted there are more resources available at the BLC.
District Administrator Cory Hirsbrunner added that she liked seeing the BLC students come together with the rest of the MHS student body - something charter students wouldn't have been able to do.
"It was neat to see the students able to take part in the Homecoming activities," she said.
But with absences up 4 percent among the 27 students who had numbers from both years, Monroe acknowledged there's room for improvement.
"The program is nowhere near perfect," he said. He and other staff members are brainstorming ideas on how to bring attendance numbers up.
They're going to try out some "neat things" some of the teachers came up with, he said.
At a school board meeting on Aug. 25, Monroe brought the first round of numbers to the board along with an update on how the students were transitioning from the charter school to the BLC.
"We really need to think of a hook for kids coming to school," he said, when school board members asked about the absences. He used the example of a student-run coffee shop - an idea that had been in the works before changes to nutrition standards made it unviable.
Vocational programs or something else that would get the kids out in the community could better engage them, Monroe suggested. He also recommended surveying the students themselves to see what they feel they need.
"We really need to invest time into figuring out how to do better for these kids," he said, adding that many of the students come from "tough conditions," and some have fundamental needs that aren't being met.
The center currently serves 18 students who have the majority of their classes there. Some other students use the BLC for one or two classes, Monroe said, but spend the rest of their time in the larger high school.
He said he will be returning to the board with another update before the semester is over.