River Bend ALC on list

By KEVIN SWEENEY

Journal Editor

NEW ULM -- Most area school administrators breathed a sigh of relief Monday when the state Department of Education's preliminary watch list of schools not making adequate progress toward accountability standards.

No elementary schools or secondary schools in The Journal's area were on the list. But the River Bend Area Learning Center in New Ulm and the Redwood Valley Alternative School in Redwood Falls were listed.

River Bend ALC was listed for its graduation rate, which falls below the state's 80 percent requirement. The Redwood Valley Alternative School was listed for daily attendance rates that were below state standards.

Synova Shelgren, principal at River Bend ALC, said the graduation statistics for River Bend are bound to be skewed, because many of the school's students who do graduate don't graduate in the regular 13-year, grades K-12 time period. A student who takes an extra year or two to graduate is still considered a "dropout" by the state.

"We meet the needs of a lot of different students," said Shelgren. "Some may have drug problems, some may be mothers, some may have mental health problems, some may be homeless. We don't look at how long it takes to graduate, we want them to graduate."

The "No Child Left Behind" program should take into account, said Shelgren, that River Bend helps students who would definitely be left behind if they didn't have alternatives to regular schools.

"I'm not saying all of these students wouldn't be in school," Shelgren said. "But many of these students, if they didn't have the opportunity to attend an ALC, or a charter school, or some other alternative, would not choose to stay in school. Choices are important."

River Bend ALC is part of the River Bend Education District, which serves students with special needs in several area districts, including GFW schools, the Hanska and Lafayette Charter Schools, the Madelia District, Minnesota New Country School in Henderson, New Ulm Public Schools, St. James, Sibley East and Sleepy Eye.

Gary Lewis, the outgoing River Bend Education District Director, said Monday that River Bend is a dropout prevention program, and it may be unrealistic to expect it to meet the same standards as regular schools. It takes students who are at risk of failing or dropping out of regular schools and gives them a chance to succeed with special programming. Given its mission, it shouldn't come as a surprise that its graduation rate may be lower than a regular school.

Students who come to an ALC meet certain criteria set by the state. They are students who have fallen behind academically, or have issues with pregnancy, chemical dependency, physical or sexual abuse. They may have been homeless in the last six months, or expelled from their last school. Some speak English as a second language.

"We are the safety net" designed to catch students before they drop out of school, said Lewis. "While we are successful with a high percentage of our students, we don't catch all of them."

Lewis said that River Bend ALC does hold its students to high expectations, but it's unrealistic to expect it to have the same results as all other schools. Other school districts with a large number of special needs students, students coming from impoverished homes and schools dealing with other factors will have the same problem, he said.

"Speaking for myself, one problem I have with the 'No Child Left Behind' program is that it is a one-size-fits-all answer to the program," said Lewis. He thinks it is unrealistic to expect all schools to meet the state's standards of being "above average."

Lewis is in transition between his job at River Bend and his new position as director of special education at Northfield Public Schools.

River Bend has 30 days to look over the state's statistics and check them for accuracy before the state comes out with its final figures.