Stories from the Field
printer friendly >
Stories Archive >
Do you have a story to share? Send your one-page narrative to principal@osu.edu. Please indicate if we may use your name in the “contributor” credits.
Educational Options for Success
Mark Hershiser, Chief of Community Relations, Westerville City Schools
Sometimes second chances can turn lives around. In the Westerville City School District, hundreds of students who were at risk of not graduating from high school have received that second chance, thanks to the Educational Options for Success (EOS) program. As a result, 354 of them have walked away with diplomas and a shot at a more promising future.
EOS is an alternative high school program serving the needs of students who have been expelled, are overage and undercredited, and who have dropped out or are considering dropping out of school. It is housed in two trailers on the Westerville North High School campus. Since its inception in February 2000, the program has met the needs of more than 550 students. Of those pupils, 60% who were once ready to drop out have graduated instead.
EdOptions Novel is the program’s primary curriculum. Novel, a library of 39 Web-based core and elective courses, is available anytime from anywhere with an Internet connection. In the 2006-07 school year alone, the program boasted a 93% success rate of students meeting requirements set by the school: either graduating, earning the credits they needed to get back on track, or transitioning back into their traditional high school.
Keeping parents informed and having students take responsibility for their own learning has been one of the biggest keys to the success of EOS. Novel’s daily report cards help keep parents updated on student progress and students, in turn, are motivated when they can see they are making headway.
In addition to the obvious and primary benefit of helping students succeed, EOS also helps district finances. Like other Franklin County school districts, Westerville had been losing a growing number of students to charter schools. Before EOS was established, hundreds of students who lived in the district were leaving for charters, taking per-pupil state funding with them to the tune of several million dollars. High school students often left for charters with flexible school hours and individualized lessons taught via computer. The exodus from Westerville was diminished when, in 2005, the Westerville Board of Education decided to aggressively lure back departing students with the promise of letting them take lessons through a computer program at their own speed—an alternative to the traditional school setting, which simply does not work for some.
The common goal for both public and private schools remains the same: to educate students. Offering them options has proven to help those who are at risk of giving up.
