WJC Board Discusses Cuts to Career, Tech Programs Tonight

By Amber Lester Tuesday, June 15, 2010

In its last work session before the end of the school year, the Williamsburg-James City County School Board will discuss several big issues, including potential changes to career and technical classes, transportation and recruitment for the Academy for Life and Learning.

The board will meet for its work session at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the boardroom of Building F in the county complex on Mounts Bay Road.

Following the regular work session, the board will call a special meeting to vote whether to pick up the five percent employee share to the Virginia Retirement System.

During the work session, the board will discuss possible changes to the division’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) offerings. Presenters will discuss the expansion of high school credit courses in middle school; reduced enrollment in Family and Consumer Sciences courses in high school and middle school; and the STEP program, currently offered to high school seniors attending Jamestown High School. According to the agenda, the discussion will be held in a conversation format.

Programs that could be consolidated or eliminated include marketing, technology, Family and Consumer Sciences, STEP and Technical Cooperation Education, according to Barbara Simmons, CTE coordinator for the school system. In a recent e-mail, she indicated Family and Consumer Sciences and marketing could be retained at Lafayette High School. CTE program Project Lead the Way will continue to be offered at Warhill High School.

Rumors of cuts brought several parents and alumni to the last board meeting to advocate for the STEP program, which allows seniors to alternate a week of core classes with a week of working at a profession of their choice (read more here: http://www.wydaily.com/local-news/4481-threat-of-cuts-to-career-tech-classes-brings-supporters-to-wjcc-board.html). Many asked why the division was considering the changes.

Executive Director for Secondary Education Dianna Lindsay has said the administration is consolidating or cutting programs with low enrollment; enrollment numbers have not been shared publicly, however. Any final decisions about the state of the programming will be up to the board.

The board will also discuss the recruitment plan for the Academy for Life and Learning (ALL). ALL is the division’s alternative education program, which accepts rising seventh- and eighth-graders who have struggled academically or behaviorally. The plan includes criteria for acceptance, including failure of Standards of Learning exams, history of poor attendance and reading two or more years below grade level.

The recruitment portion of the plan focuses on developing strategies to increase the program’s enrollment to 80 students by September. If approved, middle school principals and staff will locate and contact students who have earned a grade of D or below in math and/or English, scored a 415 or below on their Math or Reading SOL, and scored below a 70 on their math or English benchmark assessment.

At the work session, the board will also discuss changes to the bus schedules for the coming school year in light of the recent redistricting of elementary and middle schools. The proposed scenario would change start and dismissal times for all Tier II bus schedules at the elementary and middle school level. The proposed changes include:

•Toano Middle moves from Tier I to Tier II.
•Hornsby Middle is in Tier I.
•Stonehouse Elementary moves to Tier III from Tier II.
•Clara Byrd Baker moves from Tier II to Tier III.
•Tier II Middle school start and dismissal times are five minutes later (8:10 a.m.-3:10 p.m.).
•Tier II Elementary school start and dismissal times are five minutes later (8:40 a.m.-3:10 p.m.).
•Tier II school start and dismissal times are 15 minutes later (9:35 a.m.-4:05 p.m.).