Board reviews alternative school proposal
ANDREA EGER World Staff Writer
12/07/2004
Tulsa World (Final Home Edition), Page A14 of News

It calls for opening a separate Tulsa elementary school for students with behavior problems.

The Tulsa school board got its first look Monday at a proposal to open Tulsa's first alternative elementary school.

The proposal calls for Lindsey Elementary School to be reopened in mid- to late January as the Lindsey Learning Academy.

Under the proposal, on which the board is set to vote at its next regular meeting, Dec. 20, students with behavior problems could be referred to the alternative school from 19 elementary schools.

Suspensions of elementary students in Tulsa have increased by about 44 percent since 2001, according to background information included in the proposal.

The alternative education program at Lindsey Learning Academy would be based on a 3-year-old pilot program at Roosevelt Elementary School, called Project ACCEPT, which TPS officials have declared a success.

Board member Michael Pierce asked that district administrators ensure that school principals are well-trained in how to identify students for referral to Lindsey, if the proposal is approved.

Board member Gary Percefull asked Chief Academic Officer Mary Guinn to find out what transportation services could be offered to Lindsey students.

The board also approved a pilot program for nine schools that have been targeted by the state for improvement.

TPS will use the Web-based Edusoft System to measure student performance and to break down quarterly test data for students at Anderson, Bryant, Burroughs, Eugene Field, Mark Twain and Springdale elementary schools and at Cleveland, Madison and Monroe middle schools.

The program will be paid for with federal Title I funds at a cost of no more than $30,260.

Madison Principal Raushan Ashanti-Alexander signed up to address the board about the pi lot program but never mentioned the Edusoft System in his comments to the board.

Instead, Ashanti-Alexander said the board should address problems caused by "hidden racism" in the Tulsa school district.

Several school board members asked him to follow-up in written correspondence to them about the specific nature of his concerns.

In other business Monday, the board gave its approval to the $1.3 million purchase of 20 new school buses and an offer of $1,000 stipends to retiring teachers who turn in their notices by the end of January.

Tulsa Public Schools has a bus replacement plan that calls for the purchase of about 30 new buses each year with funds from voter-approved bond issues.

The early notices from retiring teachers will give TPS a head start in teacher recruitment and planning for the next school year, district spokesman John Hamill said.

Also Monday, the board voted to combine about six board policies concerning the role of the superintendent into a comprehensive one.