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Blue Jays Mic'd Up
School District of Washington Superintendent Dr. Cassandra Suggs gives updates on happenings around the District including chats with students, staff, and community leaders.
Blue Jays Mic'd Up
A+ Program in The District
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Join us this month as Dr. Kephart introduces Dr. Joe Dierks, Director of Choice Programs in the School District of Washington. In this episode, we learn about the A+ Program, the requirements to be part of it, and the great opportunities it provides. Join us next month as Dr. Kephart brings on John McColloch (Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations) and Jeff Solter (Director of Buildings and Grounds) to discuss the district’s long-range facility master plan, with a focus on modernizing the high school.
The Kephart Communications Podcast is hosted by School District of Washington, Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Kephart. With help from our team in the Washington High School CAPS program, Dr. Kephart and her guests share information ranging from district happenings, current events, and student experiences to keep listeners informed about the School District of Washington. If you're a parent, district employee, or community member, this podcast is for you. Let's welcome Dr. Kephart and her guest, Dr. Joe Dierks.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, CAPS team, for the introduction today. I am excited to have Dr. Dierks back in the podcast studio. As you may recall, listeners, Dr. Dierx, the director of choice programs in the district, joined us last year to share highlights about our early college academy program in partnership with East Central College. And he is here today to share information on our incredible A Plus program for students. Dr. Dierks, Happy New Year. Welcome back to the studio.
SPEAKER_02Happy New Year to you.
SPEAKER_01We are glad to have you. Can you provide a brief overview for our listeners about the Missouri A Plus program and its purpose?
SPEAKER_02I think it's one of the coolest things that our great state does. Definitely benefits a lot of students. Pretty simple eligibility requirements. Students have to graduate with a cumulative 2.5 GPA, 95% cumulative attendance over the course of four years. There's a math requirement involved, 50 hours of unpaid tutoring. And the last one is a citizenship requirement, which involves refraining from the illegal use of drugs and alcohol. If they do that, then there is some free education involved.
SPEAKER_01And the tutoring is they're actually providing the tutoring. I think that's one of the questions I have coming up in just a little while, but they're providing the tutoring to other students.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Well then can you tell us about how the program supports students financially, particularly in assessing and accessing higher education? Because it listeners, this is some free money. So if you heard it, this is free money from the state. So tell us a little bit more about that.
SPEAKER_02Yes, I always tell students that their parents are always very interested in this. As a high school parent myself, I am very interested in this because, yes, there's some free schooling involved. So if you meet those eligibility requirements, if your student meets those requirements, they are able to get two free years of education at any state two-year community college or state certified vocational or technical school, and that involves tuition and general fees.
SPEAKER_01And we are lucky in the School District of Washington and the Washington community to be so close to East Central that we have a lot of students that participate in A through East Central continue to live at home and get two years of schooling.
SPEAKER_02Huge cost savings with the cost of higher ed today. Yes, a lot of our students go to East Central. Students in different parts of our district also go to St. Charles Community College. I think a shocking amount of our students go to St. Louis Community College at Wildwood because that's closer for them too. And it works with uh any two-year school in Missouri.
SPEAKER_01And then after their two years, they can choose if they go to a four-year college and finish out their their full four-year degree at that at that college of choice.
SPEAKER_02Yes, A Plus really is for everyone looking to further their education because four-year schools, I have a lot of students talk to me about Mr. Dix. I want to go straight to a four-year school. Is there anything in it? For me, they often offer discounts as well for the first few semesters.
SPEAKER_01Wonderful. So, what skills or experiences do you see that students gain by participating in A?
SPEAKER_02Well, uh, we do provide a tutoring class for juniors and seniors. It's a one-semester class for credit where we put them into placements throughout the districts. I just got finished doing that with 102 tutors this semester, and we provide placement for them, and they get some pretty cool experiences. We have a lot of students that go to our elementary school or back to the middle schools and and do some great things in in helping students in classrooms. And I think really that's the goal, as originally laid out by the Department of Higher Ed is for students to be able to give back to younger students or students that know less than them and help them with their schoolwork.
SPEAKER_01And as a district, we benefit from from our older students tutoring, spending time with and really modeling those behaviors that we want to see in our younger students from our older students.
SPEAKER_02I could write a book on all the wonderful things that our students have done in those classrooms. And I think beyond the tutoring, um, I think also they gain some valuable skills and self-discipline and maybe thinking twice about miss a day of school or monitoring their own progress. I think they get some self-discipline in there as well.
SPEAKER_01And some leadership experiences just from that modeling. You and I both come from different districts, and and I've been in quite a few other districts, and we're very unique in the school district of Washington to provide an actual class for A plus hours because that does not happen everywhere. Can you share a little bit more about that experience or just how different we are?
SPEAKER_02We're really helping students out. That's that's how I would phrase it. If anyone wonders why we provide the class, why we allow students to get those tutoring hours as a class during the school day instead of, like you said, other districts have students do it on their own time and just give them maybe a list of contacts and numbers, and these people can help you get your hours. But I like to think that in in Washington we have students that are just really well-rounded and they are so busy. Many of my A plus students they work, they play sports, and I think they are very, very grateful to be able to have that in their school day and get that opportunity to get those hours satisfied there. So I think it's a big help to them, which is the best part.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. When we talk about students and family perspectives, how have you seen the program impact our students and their academic and and really career journey over time?
SPEAKER_02Oh, um, just that free education. You know, I I know uh without citing specific examples that we have students that go to school that might not otherwise have the opportunity to go to school. Um we send an awful lot of students to, I mean, a great example is State Tech in Lynn, Missouri. We don't pay for uh A plus doesn't pay for them to stay there, a room or board or anything like that, but it's close enough for our students to drive and they get free tuition through a program there and get out and make a lot of money. And and I talk to students every semester about some of the salaries that come out of programs at State Tech and how that free education is really going to pay off, uh, much more so than what I paid for my education because they're probably getting out and and making a lot more money than we did when we started out.
SPEAKER_01Well, I'm so glad you mentioned State Tech because we are one of the school districts that send the most amount of graduates to State Tech. So that's a great example of a very strong technical center that isn't too far away, still can benefit from A plus dollars.
SPEAKER_02Just a bit I don't know the exact dollar savings, but just major savings for families that want to send their students to any of those programs at State Tech. It's just wonderful.
SPEAKER_01What role do parents play in helping their children meet the program requirements?
SPEAKER_02It's good to be knowledgeable as parents, and I think parents are more likely to stay in tune with their students' grades and attendance if they know that something like this is on the line. So I think support, but at the same time, um, these are young adults and they can monitor themselves, just knowing their requirements, enforcing good behavior and good decisions with that citizenship requirement. And uh, you know, you have to you know support your child in getting reasonably good grades. This is not a lofty requirement, 2.5, but you have to get reasonably good grades, have reasonably good attendance, and and not get into trouble. And I think that's that's something that any family can support their students in.
SPEAKER_01And it really isn't a support junior senior year, it's a it's a conversation with families and with students in preparation, really starting freshman year.
SPEAKER_02Yes, uh, we enroll every freshman in the A plus program, and they're in the program until they do something to eliminate themselves.
SPEAKER_01That's always helpful because then they they start that way. Their goal is to keep it. What challenges do students typically face in maintaining eligibility? And and how can the district or how can parents assist our students?
SPEAKER_02Well, some of these requirements uh are really set in stone, and uh we can't do much to help the student. It the GPA requirement is a 2.5 at graduation, and a 2.49 doesn't work, we don't round up, so that number is what it is, what it is. And same thing with citizenship requirement. If a student makes a poor choice, there's not a whole lot we can do there, and they know that going in. The math requirement to speak briefly of that, a student would need to get a 17 or higher on the math section of the ACT or score proficient or advanced in any math EOC in high school. If they're unable to get that, we can provide support and maybe some extra work at school to get them ready for that, but that number is pretty firm too. But probably the most work that Mrs. Hassen Yeager, who is wonderful working with our students, the real work we put in every semester seems to be around attendance. If there's one thing that slipped, um, and any parents are listening to this, I would say it's attendance over the last 10 years of overseeing this program. I've seen attendance drop. Um, it seems to be more of a battle. If a student falls below 95% attendance, they're removed from the program. They can appeal their way back in, but it takes some pretty specific documentation. Every student can miss 34 days of high school, which I think is really lenient. It's really lenient. 95% seems lofty, but when you put it into days, it seems more than reasonable to me. 34 freebies, no questions asked. But when over four years. When they miss more than that, um, we have to have some good documentation. And sometimes parents aren't able to produce that because students have just missed a lot of school and don't have any reasons behind that.
SPEAKER_01So again, those are all state requirements. Those aren't school district of Washington or Dr. Dierk's requirements, those are state requirements.
SPEAKER_02I say that every semester to the A plus crew. This is not a Joe Drick's program, a Washington High School program, or a school district of Washington program. What we really do is record keep for the state and their rules. So we we have rules we need to follow, a little bit of flexibility in attendance, but in the other requirements we really just don't. So we're here to help and support students so they can hit those requirements.
SPEAKER_01Well, this is good information for our listeners, certainly those parents of high schoolers, but also parents of elementary and middle school, because we we're hoping that A doesn't go anywhere, and it's a good reminder of what to watch for when families start thinking about the expense of college and life after high school, and this is a really good program to support our students and our families from a financial standpoint, but there's some work to do from our student standpoint as well. So, as we close out with our listeners, what advice would you give students who are considering being a part of the A plus program or really working towards those A plus requirements?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, we we sign every freshman up at registration for the A plus program. So unless you're new to us, you're probably enrolled or we will get you enrolled. But I think just from the very beginning, there's not a whole lot to do for parents as freshmen and sophomore parents, other than really try to have high expectations when it comes to grades for your child and attendance for your child and support that. Students having good behavior, good grades, good attendance, and then we start thinking more about fulfilling the tutoring and math requirements as they get into junior or senior year and provide a lot more support there. Again, another shout out to Mrs. Hassen Yeager. She tracks all of those requirements. She is amazing. Students love working with her, very approachable, and she's at the high school every day, whereas I am out and about around the district. So our students can always stop in and talk with Mrs. Hassen Yeager, and she'll give them an update on where they are. Parents can call in, she will give them a quick update. We are definitely here for students, and this is just such a cool program to be a part of.
SPEAKER_01Last question from me we have about 300, 315 to 20 graduates each year. About how many of our students, you don't have to tell me the specific number, but about how many graduate with A plus requirements met.
SPEAKER_02It's almost always right around two-thirds. So that's impressive. 60 to 70 percent of our graduates, so maybe a little over 200, 220.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's that's impressive. Well, thank you so much for being in the studio today, but you can't leave yet because you joined us last year for 5 and 15. So we want to get to know you a little better. And there's a theme to our 5 and 15 today. So are you ready for our five and fifteen?
SPEAKER_02Yep.
SPEAKER_01All right. Hot chocolate or snow ice cream?
SPEAKER_02Hot chocolate.
SPEAKER_01Uh your favorite color.
SPEAKER_02Um orange.
SPEAKER_01I could have guessed that. Sledding or skiing?
SPEAKER_02Sledding.
SPEAKER_01Uh favorite season.
SPEAKER_02Summer.
SPEAKER_01And baseball hat or stocking cap?
SPEAKER_02Baseball hat.
SPEAKER_01My guess is the winter weather we've been having has not been a favorite of yours.
SPEAKER_02No, I like warm weather.
SPEAKER_01I would agree. I'd be right there with you. Well, thank you again, Dr. Dirks, for joining us in the CAPS broadcast studio. Listeners, join us next month as we share more about our district long-range facility master plan and our focus on modernizing the Washington High School. Thank you to our listeners for partnering with us as we live out the School District of Washington mission to inspire achievement, character, and personal growth in all students as they pursue and succeed in college careers and life. Have a wonderful day.
SPEAKER_00And don't forget, you can connect with the district on Facebook and Twitter at SD of Washington and the website washington.k12.mo.us