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when students
are disruptive
The closing of the Nakina Alternative School next year has been a long time coming.
Because it is 20-some miles from the center of the county, its isolation causes problems on a number of levels.
Students from Fair Bluff or Riegelwood have significant distances to travel. And when there is trouble with a student, reinforcements are a long time coming.
There is no absolute solution in dealing with unruly students who can’t function in a normal classroom. Getting through to them is a tough task in any setting.
North Whiteville Academy, the alternative school component of Whiteville City Schools, has been a success, but it deals with fewer students who get more individualized attention. Maybe the county’s twilight schools, which will divide alternative school candidates among the three county high schools, will do a better job with fewer students per teacher.
Unfortunately, the failure rate for students sent into the twilight program or any other alternative program will be high, so trying to help these students will always be a frustrating proposition.
School systems across the state had better plan to beef up their alternative programs if a bill before the N.C. Senate becomes law.
The proposed bill calls for all students to attend school through age 18 rather than age 16, the current age limit.
This well-meaning law will only keep more disruptive students in school who ultimately will disrupt those trying to learn. If a student is a problem at 16, there’s little chance he or she will make a miraculous turnaround in the next two years.
Tossing problem students out of school is often the only solution. Still, there are success stories where counseling and attentive instructors have gotten students back on the right track. These few cases make a strong alternative or twilight program worth the effort.
Otherwise, these students are out on the street and lost forever. Not all can be saved, but some can.