Trustees agree on three grades

Final vote on configuration expected at January meeting

It is almost certain now that Glacier High School will open with freshmen, sophomores and juniors, but the senior class will be left to graduate in a unified group from Flathead High in spring 2008.

Trustees at a workshop session Wednesday night agreed that the three-grade configuration is the only one that makes sense.

A final vote is expected at the board's next meeting in January.

"Tenth-graders need leaders," trustee Eve Dixon said, reasoning against a proposal to open with just freshmen and sophomores. "A lot of parents have said they don't want their kids to go without at least a junior class. And economically, we need to go with more."

She referred to data from district clerk Todd Watkins that made the case that a minimum student population is needed to draw enough per-student state funding to run a viable curriculum.

With too few students, the doors could open, but only enough money would be available for staff to teach a bare-bones schedule. With three grades, Glacier High could hire more teachers to flesh out core classes, higher-level courses and electives that first year.

But a grade-configuration decision hinges on much more than finances.

Trustees Mary Ruby and Mark Lalum reported on their research into what other school districts have done when opening a second high school, and how their decisions panned out for them.

Down to the last district among those they studied, not one had success with splitting the existing senior class to start up the new school with four grades.

It demoralized the senior class, Ruby said, and a distinct drop occurred in scores and grades.

Other factors go into the mix, too.

One promise to the community before last year's school-bond election was not to split the seniors.

Small freshmen and sophomores could be pitted against much-larger seniors in athletic contests if the low enrollment forces them into Class A competition, trustee Bill Sutton said.

Even activities award letters and letter jackets, at $200 a pop, were recognized as a concern for parents whose children could begin high school activities at Flathead, then graduate from Glacier High.

Superintendent Darlene Schottle suggested mentioning the yet-to-be-developed transfer policy in the board's motion for a three-grade configuration the first year. The policy would lay out criteria for requests to attend either Flathead or Glacier from students who live outside those respective districts.

The policy will be important, Lalum said, to ensure both schools keep enough students to run a good curriculum.

But, Dixon asked, why even mention the transfer policy in the vote for a firm decision to have three grades at Glacier High the first year?

"I don't want the public to read too much into this," Dixon said. "We can say we have a transfer policy we are working on, too, but keep it away from the grade configuration" decision.

"If the decision is good for all time," Trustee Tony Dawson agreed, "it will work in the first year, too."

Sutton cautioned against giving the impression that students would be denied access to programs available only at one school. Schottle conceded that she had mentioned the transfer policy specifically to address the International Baccalaureate Programme, in place only at Flathead High.

To avoid the impression of "haves" and "have nots" with the new and old high schools - and stave off some transfer requests - the trustees agreed on the importance of finishing promised renovations at Flathead High by the time Glacier High opens.

Grade configuration, curriculum offerings and building design will be just part of what makes both schools attractive.

The transition to any high school is a fulcrum in any student's life, Linderman School seventh-grade teacher John Hughes said, and school administrators should make the most of it.

"A young mind is malleable," Hughes said. "So how do we make this an opportunity and not a liability?"

"The sooner you set the grade configuration," Lalum argued for a firm decision, "the sooner you get the mindset going and the kids start getting excited."

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com.