Our View: Smart move
The sun shone on Spokane last week. Every once in a while that happens. In among the run of bad news, of tragedies and shootings, of the drip-drip-drip of frustration and dissension, a moment of grace happens around here. This was one of those.
The Community Colleges of Spokane has stepped in to rescue Crosswalk’s alternative high school program. Crosswalk, of course, is the downtown Spokane center that serves teenagers who are homeless, estranged from their families or dealing with mental illness.
There had been a moment or two of panic when the news came out that the alternative school run there for 21 years by Spokane Public Schools would have to close. The school district had been a faithful partner for a long time, but earlier this year, it got the word: The federal No Child Left Behind Act now prohibits separate education programs for homeless students. The school district could welcome these students back to its high schools, but the Crosswalk classes would end.
Fortunately, Marilee Roloff, president and CEO of Volunteers of America in Spokane, which runs Crosswalk, and Spokane Schools Supt. Brian Benzel devised a plan. They met with Gary Livingston, chancellor and CEO at the Community Colleges of Spokane. And Livingston, not surprisingly, said yes.
That means the community colleges’ Institute for Extended Learning will begin this summer to help around 70 Crosswalk students complete their high school education or complete a General Education Development degree, usually called a GED. The institute will hire Crosswalk’s two present teachers away from Spokane Schools, add a third and provide computers.
The cost should be a little over $100,000, and it’ll be paid with a mix of state and federal funds.
It’s a happy turn of events, and Roloff, a self-described “hope nut,” couldn’t be more pleased. She loves it when Crosswalk kids wind up going on to college – and they virtually always start at the local community colleges. One is now studying at the University of Pennsylvania.
It’s clear the No Child Left Behind Act needs to be changed. A regulation that makes sense for homeless elementary students, who do best when they can remain in their home schools, simply doesn’t make much sense for teenagers.
But this year’s crop of Crosswalk students can’t wait for changes in federal legislation. They simply need to go to school.
Happily, the community colleges’ approach will help them work on a GED at their own pace rather than face the pressure of passing the state’s stiffer graduation requirements, including the WASL. It will also start a program to help ease the transition from high school to the community college.
College hasn’t loomed as an option for most of the teens who find their way to Crosswalk. With the community colleges’ help, now it can.