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By Lola Alapo Knox County school board members Monday unanimously approved proposed academic approaches and staffing plans for two high schools but expressed reservation at unanswered questions. Those questions include specific financial impact and how the schools' administrators would measure success. "I hear achievement but I don't know what it looks like," board member Dan Murphy said during a presentation from officials of Austin-East Performing Arts and Sciences Magnet High School. He said he hoped the measures would not only be "adequate yearly progress," a standard used by the federal government. "Getting us to the level of acceptable is not good enough," he said. "Good intentions are one thing but I want to see those results laid out." Administrators at Austin-East and Fulton high schools in August will implement the radical academic concepts. The changes come as a result of mandates under the federal No Child Left Behind Act because the schools had consistently missed benchmarks. Austin-East must be restructured by the fall. Fulton is a year behind Austin-East but its officials decided to pre-empt NCLB penalties by developing their academic approach that will allow students to leave with career certifications. Austin-East will have three academic "neighborhoods": early college, in which students can graduate with a diploma and up to 60 college credits; entrepreneurial and innovations, in which students will have a chance to apply classroom knowledge in internships and service learning; and performing and visual arts, which would include vocational courses. Literacy will be the focus because 50 percent of incoming students read several years below grade level, Executive Principal Brian Hartsell said. Board member Cindy Buttry noted that Austin-East, under the new plan, wouldn't retain its magnet designation and questioned whether officials would recruit. Hartsell said the school would still look to draw students countywide with its unique programs. Fulton's plan has four academies - stand-alone schools that would have their own floors and adopt professional dress codes to identify students with their schools, Interim Principal Jon Rysewyk previously said. The proposed schools are Freshman Experience, School of Communication, School of Liberal Arts and School of Health Science. Both Austin-East and Fulton have an "8-plus" component, a transition year between eighth and ninth grade for rising freshmen who are not academically ready for high school. Board member Sam Anderson wanted more information on the program and how well it's worked elsewhere. He was concerned that the schools, which have many low-income students and students of color, would be used as experiments for 8-plus. "If it's good, it should be good systemwide," he said. An extended teacher contract and signing bonus are also a part of both programs. Teachers would go from a 200-day contract to 221 to make time for professional development and student intervention. Educators at both schools also have to reapply for their jobs and would receive up to a $3,000 signing bonus. They must commit to at least three years. If they leave early they have to pay back a portion of the incentive, Interim Superintendent Roy Mullins said. Board Chairwoman Karen Carson expressed frustration that personnel costs presented Monday - $5,421,161 for Austin-East and $5,980,263 for Fulton - were not final numbers, especially since the board will begin budget discussions within the next month. She also noted other operating costs were not included. Murphy challenged Hartsell and Rysewyk to look at areas within their programs that could be trimmed, which would help the board during the budget process. |
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