By DALE HULL
As a high school English teacher a couple of decades ago, I railed against the public school systems of Michigan for not being more creative in the way they deliver an education to the children of this state.
According to the Detroit Free Press, a quarter of Michigan students are failing to graduate on time this year and 15 percent of our student population will drop out altogether before June.
Fortunately, none of our northern Michigan school districts fail kids to that degree, but we all fail to meet the needs of some of them and failing to meet the needs of even one should be considered unacceptable.
Apparently, officials at Charlevoix's Northwest Academy, Suttons Bay High School and Traverse City Public School systems agree. All three are early pioneers in the state's Seat Time Waiver program, a pilot program that waives the rule that every student must be in a seat, at school, every day to be counted.
Seat Time Waiver takes advantage of computer technology and its ability to allow students to take courses on line, at home, or anywhere else where there is access to a computer.
More than 40 students are enrolled as Seat Time Waiver students at Northwest Academy this year. They are from cities and towns all over Northern Michigan, and they are going to school full time on a computer somewhere off campus.
David and Susan Episcopo, of Harbor Springs, have twin sons in the program. "One of the things I like best about the Seat Time Waiver program," Susan said, "is that students are still considered a part of the public school system. They are held accountable through a visiting certified teacher and a highly qualified teacher online to make sure they stay on track."
The program allows the Episcopo children, both highly self-motivated students, to progress at their own speed and both are on track to finish the regular curriculum for this school year by June and will have completed at least two of the courses scheduled for next year.
The program is flexible. One of Northwest Academy's Seat Time Waiver students spends her time in a local safe house to protect her child from an abusive husband. The program accommodates for her special needs.
"We offer the program to any student who qualifies, no matter what school system would otherwise claim him or her as a student," explains Northwest Academy administrator Gary Stutzman. "We use the regular funding from the state to provide a computer, software, online access and a certified teacher to act as mentor."
Our schools should be among society's most creative and flexible institutions. They are filled with bright, dedicated professionals.
I am delighted to learn about the positive growth of the Seat Time Waiver program at Northwest Academy in Charlevoix, Suttons Bay High School and the Traverse City Public Schools where, apparently, children still come first.
About the author: Dale Hull is a one-time English teacher who earned a BA in English at Grand Valley State University and a Permanent Teaching Certificate from the State of Michigan. He has two master's degrees, one from Central Michigan University in the humanities and one in public administration from Grand Valley State University. He recently retired as executive director of the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra. Prior to that he was executive director of Crooked Tree Arts Center in Petoskey.
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