If a five-year program were formally adopted, it would be considered an additional type of intervention to help students progress at a pace that promotes success, rather than a consequence of a student's failure. In the case of the class of 2000, about half of the 2,255 students who entered one Rochester high school in the fall of 1996 were gone by June 2000. In the new five-year program, students will be able to take courses for a longer period of time each year, possibly spending double class periods in certain subjects. At the other end of the spectrum, in 1999, about 28 Rochester students completed their high school requirements in three years. Under the Pathways program, students who wish to graduate early would begin taking high school courses in eighth grade.
School administrators plan to research the availability of grant funds for the high school programs.
Chicago officials also expect that A.C.E. will require some additional funding. But the system is anticipating an enrollment increase of about 30,000 students over five years, so that in itself will require larger classes and more teachers, Buckney said. Inc. All Rights Reserved.