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Community Corner

Struggling Parkway Students Get Second Chance

Creve Coeur Patch continues to look at alternative education programs available to students in the Parkway School district.

Say your seventh-grade student is struggling in school. You get regular notes from teacher about missed assignments, and it seems the principal is always calling home with another discipline issue. Is there anything to be done?

What if there were a way to hit the reset button, giving your student a chance to change his or her behavior and get back on track? In the , there is.

REACH is a special curriculum for struggling eighth-grade Parkway students. The program’s goal is to pinpoint and alter student behaviors that negatively impact the learning environment and a student’s ability to succeed. Students are also prepared for the challenges of high school.

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Principals identify students who might benefit from the REACH program. "By the seventh-grade second semester, principals and counselors have a sense of who could be a candidate for the program," said Lori Maddox, assistant principal of REACH. "As educators, we seek to engage and reconnect students to school. Many lack motivation or have attendance issues, and we strive to address the causes."

There are 25 students enrolled in REACH—five from each of the middle schools.

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Classes include core subjects required for transition to high school with emphasis in communication arts and math. Special education and counseling are available to the students. Children are enrolled for an entire school year; they attend classes from 8 a.m. until 2:35 p.m., just like their middle school peers.

In a June presentation to the Parkway School Board, administrators reported 92 percent of students surveyed said "they were better prepared for high school because of the REACH experience."  Students cited daily accountability for behavior and academic performance as a reason for their success. Individualized attention from teachers improved school performance and grades, students said. There is a 1:12 teacher to student ratio.         

REACH is different from what another area school district offers.  doesn’t offer a similar middle school program, but it does have the . Michael Hylen, Rockwood's director of Alternative Programs, said that program serves high school students who are struggling. Those students often stay in the program, which offers smaller class sizes and a more structured learning environment, until they earn their diploma.

At the June Parkway school board meeting, administrators said space was limited at the Instructional Services Center, which houses the program. The center at Fee Fee Road and Bennington Place is also the home of the Alternative Discipline Center, a full-day preschool program and more. 

Despite space concerns, the program is working. At the meeting, Maddox told the school board of a student who earned a 3.5 GPA in REACH. He qualified for and will take Honors English in his freshman year. Students' willingness to take academic risks also grows as their grades and behavior improve, Maddox said.

“The program is a confidence-builder for kids who are struggling,” Maddox said. “Watching kids blossom and seeing them realize that they can 'do school' makes an impact on them and on teachers.”

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