Board to decide fate of Riverside High School
Riverside High School is under scrutiny from the Idaho’s Department of Education.
The school was determined to be a One-Star school under Idaho’s new five-star system.
Being a one-star school means that Riverside High School is considered a top priority school for the state because of low performance. The school currently has 23 students, two full-time teachers and two classified staff.
“They analyze student growth,” says Jan Bayer, BCSD curriculum director. “There should be projected growth over three years.”
“We aren’t alone in this,” says Ken Olson, Riverside High School principal. “Eleven other alternative schools in the state are in the same position.”
That position is to raise academic achievement and close achievement gaps in the school.
“Our number one priority is students,” says Bayer. “We will do everything possible to make sure they are taken care of and their academic needs met.”
At the Nov. 8 school board meeting, Bayer presented the four options the school district can choose from for Riverside High School.
These options are (in no particular order):
• Turnaround model
Includes, among other actions, replacing the principal and rehiring up to 50 percent of the school’s staff; adopting a new governance structure; and implementing an instructional program that is research-based and aligned with the state’s academic standards.
• Restart model
The district converts the public school to a charter school or closes and reopens it under the management of an education management organization that has been selected through a rigorous review process. The school is still entirely accountable to the local school board for the results it produces.
• School closure
The district closes the school and enrolls the students who attended the school in other higher-achieving schools in the district.
• Governance partnership model
The district partners with an external entity to implement the turnaround principles and transform the governance of the school. This may include:
• Agreeing to utilize services provided directly to the district by the state in lieu of a state takeover in which a diagnostic review is conducted and services are tailored specifically to the context of the school and district.
• Purchasing the services of a lead turnaround partner that will utilize research-based strategies that have a proven record of success and which shall be a key participant and decision-maker in all aspects of developing and executing the turnaround plan.
Bayer advised the school board they need to make the decision by mid-December so implementation of the decided model can begin.
“It’s going to be a difficult decision for the school board,” said Bayer. “I appreciate all the hard work of the Riverside staff.”
The Idaho Department of Education is using the five-star rating system instead of the federal No Child Left Behind law after receiving a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education this year.
Under the new system, the state uses multiple factors to gauge a school’s performance instead of only test scores. These factors include academic growth, academic proficiency, participation and for high schools, postsecondary and career readiness metrics.
The new system aims to bring higher levels of accountability to public education and more accurate measures of academic performance.
Under the new five-star system, the other schools in the county are performing well. Bonners Ferry High School, Naples Elementary and Mt. Hall Elementary are four-star schools. Valley View Elementary and Boundary County Middle School are three-star schools.