Corvallis School District 509J

 

Honoring Diversity

 


February 1, 2009

 

Dear Parents and Students:

 

This letter is to notify you about the Expanded Options program, an exciting opportunity for students aged 16 and older. This program allows students to take Linn Benton Community College classes that will count toward requirements for graduating from high school.  Additionally, these classes can move students toward a post-secondary degree or help them to prepare for a career.

 

Interested students must:

·      Complete and return an Expanded Options application prior to May 15, 2009, to be eligible for the program during the 2009-2010 school year. Returning your application sooner than May 15 is advised so that we can help you with the admissions process.

·      Take the LBCC reading, writing and math skills placement test.

·      Fill out the LBCC Underage Student Enrollment Form.

 

Applications may be returned to your high school’s Extended Learning Specialist (Kathleen Muravez at Corvallis High School, Mukta Gupta at Crescent Valley High School) or counseling office.

 

Students may qualify to participate in Expanded Options if they meet the criteria below during the 2009-2010 school year:

 

Definitions

 

An eligible student means a student enrolled in a public school who:

  1. Is in grade 11 or 12 or between the ages of 16 - 19 when enrolling for a post-secondary course.
  2. Has developed an educational learning plan.
  3. Has not successfully completed four years of high school.
  4. Is not a foreign exchange student.
  5. Is enrolled in a Corvallis high school prior to or by virtue of participation in the Expanded Options program.

 

An eligible post-secondary course means:

  1. Any nonsectarian course or program offered through an eligible post-secondary institution if the course or program may lead to high school completion, a certificate, professional certification, associate degree or baccalaureate degree.
  2. Academic and professional technical courses and distance education courses.
  3. It does not include a course that duplicates one offered at a local high school.

 

Purpose:

 

The purpose of this program is to create a seamless education system for students aged 16 and older to:

  1. Have additional options to continue or complete their education;
  2. Earn concurrent high school and college credits;
  3. Promote and support existing accelerated college credit programs and support the development of new programs that are unique to a community’s secondary and post-secondary relationships and resources;
  4. Allow eligible students who participate in the Expanded Options program to enroll full-time or part-time in an eligible post-secondary institution;
  5. Provide public funding to the eligible post-secondary institutions for educational services to eligible students to offset the cost of tuition, fees, textbooks, equipment and materials for students who participate in the Expanded Options program.

 

Graduation and Course Credit:

 

Participating in Expanded Options will not adversely affect students’ ability to graduate because credit received from successfully completing an eligible post-secondary course may be applied towards high school graduation requirements. However, students not receiving a passing grade in an eligible post-secondary course may not receive credits towards high school graduation. Failure to successfully complete an eligible post-secondary course may affect a student’s ability to remain or re-enroll in Expanded Options.

 

Selection

 

All eligible students may apply for Expanded Options, but all eligible students who apply may not be accepted because of space limitations. Enrollment in Expanded Options may be limited because of caps on total credit hours that will be awarded by the high school.  The total number of credits awarded under Expanded Options by each high school equals one-third of its enrollment in grades 9 through 12. (For example, if high school enrollment in grades 9-12 is 1,000 students, the high school may award no more than 330 credit hours for all students in Expanded Options.)

 

If demand for classes exceeds availability, the district will give priority to students at-risk. The definition of an at-risk student is a student who either qualifies for a free or reduced lunch program, meets state or federal thresholds for poverty which entitles the student for services under certain provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, or meets district criteria for students at-risk. If qualified applications to Expanded Options exceed space limitations, the district will use the following process to select students to participate:

  1. Eliminate incomplete applications.
  2. If demand still exceeds the credit cap, use a lottery drawing to eliminate applications for 10th graders not at risk and then 11th graders not at risk until requests equal the credit cap.
  3. If demand still exceeds the credit cap after eliminating all students not at risk, reduce the number of credit hours students may take with the goal being to move toward equalizing the number of credit hours each student may take until the number of credits approved equals the credit cap.
  4. If demand still exceeds the credit cap after equalizing requested courses, use a lottery drawing to eliminate 10th grade at risk students and then 11th grade at risk students who are not drop outs until requests equal the credit cap.

 

Enrollment and Participation

 

Participation in Expanded Options depends on a student’s acceptance by Linn Benton Community College.  Expanded Options participants will not be eligible for state financial aid. Expanded Options students will have all costs paid for by the district in the same manner as if they were attending the public high school. The district will pay for textbooks, fees, equipment or materials, and any other cost associated with enrollment. Parents and/or students will be responsible for providing transportation to the eligible post-secondary institution. The district and the eligible post-secondary institution may choose to arrange transportation services, although if it so chooses, this service may not always be available. If the student receives special education services, the district will continue to provide special education services under an IEP.

 

Expanded Options participants are expected to comply with all behavior and attendance standards of the post-secondary institution. Failure to comply with academic, attendance, and behavioral expectations of the Expanded Options program and Linn Benton Community College may result in getting no credit toward graduation for the course(s), removal from Expanded Options, disciplinary action, or referral to law enforcement or truancy officers.

 

Students may participate in Expanded Options for no more than two years. If students are in grade 12 when they first enroll, they may participate no more than the equivalent of one academic year in Expanded Options.

 

Without the district’s permission, Expanded Options students may not enroll (at the district’s expense) in the equivalent of more than seven high school credits when high school and college credits are combined. Students needing more than seven credits per year to graduate on time may apply for a waiver to this restriction from the administrator overseeing Expanded Options.

 

If a student intends to enroll in a course that is already offered by the district, i.e., a duplicate course, the course will not be paid for under Expanded Options unless the student applies for and receives a waiver from the administrator overseeing Expanded Options. A duplicate course is one that is similar in content and scope to another course already offered by or through the district. If you disagree with the administrator’s decision, you may appeal the decision under the procedures outlined below:

 

Contested Decisions/Appeal:

 

If you disagree with the district’s determination that a course is a duplicate course, you may appeal first to the Director of Student Services. Your appeal must be in writing and contain at a minimum the following information: 1) name of students; 2) name of post-secondary course; 3) detailed description of post-secondary course; 4) name of duplicate course offered by high school; 4) detailed description of duplicate course offered by high school; and 5) reasons why you believe the course is not a duplicate. You must initiate your appeal within 5 days of receiving notification that the post-secondary course is a duplicate. The Director of Students Services will issue a written decision within 10 days.

 

If dissatisfied with this decision, you may appeal next to the Board of Education. Your appeal must be in writing. You must initiate your appeal within 10 days of receiving the determination from the Director of Student Services that the post-secondary course is a duplicate. The Board will issue a written decision within 20 days.

 

If dissatisfied with the Board’s decision, you may appeal to the Superintendent of Public Instruction or designee after exhausting local procedures or after 45 days of filing a written complaint with the school district, whichever occurs first.  If you appeal to the Superintendent of Public Instruction or designee, you must comply with all requirements under OAR 581-022-1940.

 

To enhance post-secondary opportunities, students and parents should also consider district-provided educational programs that offer post-secondary level courses. These include Advanced Placement courses, some vocational programs, and College Now classes available at each high school.

 

Contact Information:

 

If you have questions, please contact your high school counselor, the Extended Learning Specialist in your school, or Sally McAfee at 541-766-4717 or at sally.mcafee@corvallis.k12.or.us. To apply for next year’s Expanded Options program, please fill out the Expanded Options application and obtain your high school counselor’s approval on the application. The counselor will insure that the college course(s) of interest to you address your academic and career goals. The counselor will also explain how the proposed course(s) contribute to your plan for graduating from high school. To be eligible, submit the completed application before May 15, 2009.

 

Sincerely,

Sally McAfee

Coordinator of Alternative Education