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MENTONE- It's official. Next school year, Burket Elementary will become Tippecanoe Valley School Corp.'s Alternative School.
The proposal, recommended by superintendent Dr. Karen Boling, passed with a vote of 4-1 at Monday's board meeting. Board member Dave O'Brien voted against the proposal, saying he worried about high school students driving to Burket in icy winter weather.
Current Burket students will attend Mentone Elementary beginning next year. Parents of Burket students said they worried about the psychological impact the move will have on their children and also noted that Burket consistently scores higher on standardized tests than both Mentone and Akron schools.
Board member Mark Wise said the move is "one of the most difficult decisions" he has ever had to make, but noted that Burket students will have "greater opportunities" by moving to Mentone.
The Mentone school has well-equipped computer labs; science, art and music rooms; a new gym; and a state-of-the art media center.
Board member Hal Hoffman added to Wise's comments, noting that Mentone has new classrooms that have "never been touched" and a "media center and gym that are almost the best that money can buy."
Plans for the alternative school were briefly outlined last night. Boling said they project a total of 25 to 30 junior and senior high school students will attend. They will be taken from a pool of 80 potentials after a thorough interview process.
The school program will consist of a half day in classroom instruction and a half day in either a workplace environment or performing community service. High school students will be required to show documentation of their work hours to continue attending, while junior high students must document at least 12 hours of community service every week to attend.
Boling also noted that the Alternative School is not for the "bad" students. It will be available for students who do not succeed in "regular" school for a variety of reasons. Teen pregnancy and lack of English language proficiency were two reasons for attending that Boling discussed.
