BY SYDNEY HOOVER
The Eudora School Board is considering an alternative program for at-risk students to ensure they graduate on time.
The program would be a hybrid of online and in-person instruction. It would allow students who are credit deficient to work in a smaller class setting, as well as earn credit for attending counseling sessions, working and other self-help options.
“We need to give these kids the support they need to excel after high school,” Eudora High School Assistant Principal Joe Zlatnik told the board Thursday. “Flexibility is going to be key, the willingness to kind of break out of the mold of ‘this is what school looks like.’”
Currently, Eudora offers an online program as an alternative to the traditional seven-hour school day. Zlatnik said this is successful for students who are academically inclined but suffer from chronic or mental illnesses, such as extreme anxiety. However, for other at-risk students, that lack of guidance can be problematic.
Online schooling also takes away opportunities, such as free and reduced meals that students could receive during the school day, Zlatnik said.
Students considered at-risk who would qualify for the alternative program include those who are homeless or from low-income families, those with mental illnesses, students with children and others.
“It’s just a cycle that keeps going for some of these families,” said Eudora Middle School Principal Jeremy Thomas.
Over the past month, Zlatnik, Thomas, Superintendent Steve Splichal and Academic Success teacher Jessica Johnson have toured other alternative programs around the state, including in Topeka, Shawnee and Kansas City, Kansas.
Although these programs catered to much larger districts, they saw how other schools organized programs and gained ideas for what an alternative program could look like in Eudora.
“This is, I would say, a passion project for us. This is something we feel some of our most vulnerable kids would really really benefit from,” Zlatnik said. “We’re giving them a chance.”
Splichal told the board they did not have a program entirely laid out at this time — details would have to be worked out as it is developed — but wanted to present what they saw in other districts and how that could be applied in Eudora.
In other business, the board recognized the Eudora High School scholars bowl team for its league championship this year. Assistant Coach Jim Barnard said it was the first time to his knowledge Eudora had won the Frontier League championship.
The team medaled at three meets in addition to the league championship. They missed qualifying for state in some very close matches, Barnard said.
“We’ve got a nice, young group coming back, and we’re excited for the future of this group,” Barnard said.
During the meeting, Splichal also addressed concerns across the nation regarding coronavirus. Over 160 schools across the country were closed Thursday due to the virus.
No cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Kansas. Splichal said the district is continuing to communicate with families about it and said most recently, the district sent out information on best practices for washing hands.
“At the end of the day, we’re still going to open our doors tomorrow. We’re still going to educate kids,” Splichal said.
Reach reporter Sydney Hoover at eudoratimes@gmail.com.
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