Alternative school wins support

A Durham school board committee gives its backing to starting the high school

DURHAM -- Durham school leaders said they will collaborate with a national nonprofit to start a small alternative school for at-risk high schoolers next fall.

At a committee meeting Tuesday, five of the board's seven members agreed unanimously to use part of a $9.9 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to start an alternative high school. The alternative program is something the district has considered for more than a year.

"This grew out of concern about a group of our students that were not successful in the traditional-model high school," said Terri Mozingo, associate superintendent for instruction.

The big push came last month, when the Gates Foundation gave the national education nonprofit group Communities in Schools the multimillion-dollar grant to start small alternative schools in four states. In turn, Communities in Schools offered about $250,000 to establish the school in Durham.

The alternative program would enroll 75 to 150 students ages 16 and older, with a flexible schedule for students who work or have children.

Through the collaboration, Communities in Schools would pay for computers, other supplies and one staff member. The school district would have to provide the site, five full-time teachers and operational costs such as transportation.

Because the district gets money from the state to cover each student, the money to pay some of the costs already is available, said Patrick Rhodes, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

"To me, it's a very good deal," Rhodes told the board members.

The next step, he said, will be finding a site for the school. An official vote approving the school will come at next week's full board meeting.

It was one of few items the members could agree on at Tuesday's meeting.

A discussion on whether to turn Chewning Middle School, which has both year-round and traditional students under one roof, into a completely year-round program was more contentious.

Parents and teachers filled the meeting space, saying the change to a one-calendar school is long overdue.

"When I first got there, I was told that the calendar was going to year-round within a year," said Selena Oliver, an eighth-grade teacher on the traditional calendar. "It's now going on five years. ... It's almost become unbearable."

The two-calendar system is confusing and stressful, and creates instability, parents said.

Board member Fredrick Davis asked the board to vote immediately to convert the school to a year-round program so planning could begin.

But other board members still were pondering whether to require students in Chewning's district to attend the year-round school or to make enrollment open.

Board member Heidi Carter said she also wanted to consider opening Chewning as a year-round program through grade 12. With all the questions looming, the committee put off a decision until January.

The group also previewed courses for the middle school for gifted students opening in the fall at the old W.G. Pearson elementary. The school will enroll sixth-graders from R.N. Harris, Club Boulevard and the new W.G. Pearson elementaries. The board voted last month to create the middle school.