HHS may close campus for at-risk students

In a meeting with community members this morning, Havre High School principal Craig Mueller presented a proposal for disallowing academically at-risk students to leave the campus for lunch.

If accepted by the Havre Public Schools Board of Trustees, the change would be put into effect next school year for incoming freshmen students. Those who have been attending the high school this year will not be affected by the change in policy, if it is accepted.

In order to qualify for the privilege of open lunch, freshmen must meet the following criteria, a document from Havre Public Schools outlines:

• Fewer than four tardies per quarter, not including the the excused tardies each quarter. A quarter is nine weeks. A semester is two quarters long, or 18 weeks.

• Fewer than six absences per quarter. Only school-excused absences do not count toward this number.

• No severe behavioral referrals, which include issues such as fighting and drugs.

• Fewer than two pervasive behavioral referrals per semester. This includes creating disturbances during instructional periods

• The students must follow the credit plan that ensures graduation.

Mueller said that, hypothetically, if this were put into place for this ending school year, 19 or 20 freshmen would have fallen under these parameters and have their open campus lunch privileges revoked.

If this is passed at the next trustees meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m. May 12 at the Havre Middle School auditorium, the consequences of losing open campus privileges are:

• First time - one week of supervised academic time during lunch. Academic time is essentially tutoring with a high school employee

• Second - two weeks of supervised academic time

• Third - Parent meeting and loss of privilege for the following semester. The privilege is that of being allowed to leave campus for lunch

• Fourth - Parent meeting and loss of privilege for the following two semesters

• Fifth - Parent meeting and loss of privilege for remainder of high school

These accumulate throughout the student's high school career.

Superintendent Andy Carlson said an unintended, but welcomed consequence of this change in policy will be further communication with students and parents about the status of that affected student's progress in attaining their diploma.

This policy change is reportedly being sought to lower the number of student tardiness, especially in fifth period directly after lunch, and to help combat dropout rates.