Webb presents dramatic plan for change

By SHELBY SCHROEDER

One aspect of the plan calls for more time in class and less summer vacation.

YOUNGSTOWN — The school district’s superintendent unveiled a plan that would drastically change the way students are educated in the city’s public schools.

Superintendent Wendy Webb led the discussion in East High School’s auditorium Wednesday, seeking feedback on an initiative called Framing the Future.

The plan would change scheduling and add two schools to the system to create four separately functioning high schools.

Pupils between fifth and eighth grade might have classes for nine weeks, followed by three weeks off, repeated throughout the year. By forming the staggered schedule, Webb said pupils would receive intensive help during the three-week intervals if they were underperforming.

The schedule also would allow pupils to retain information they might otherwise lose during a lengthy summer vacation.

Four smaller high schools would direct students toward college and career opportunities but by separate routes.

Two schools would divide students by gender, each providing baccalaureate programs. The other two schools would concentrate on science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, and some baccalaureate programs.

Webb said the Framing the Future plan is the only step toward the progress demanded of the education system by colleges and businesses seeking competent, educated graduates. She said the old system of education is flawed.

“You can’t go back. You’ve got to re-create and move on,” she said.

Though the plans may seem far-fetched in a district accustomed to the routine, Webb said the changes must be drastic in order to increase graduation rates and better serve pupils who have fallen behind.

She repeatedly called on the community to help implement the plan, which would otherwise founder without parental support.

“No one’s going to come into Youngstown, come into our district and save it,” she said. “We have to save it.”

These changes would also come at a cost to a district already millions of dollars in debt.

According to district Treasurer William Johnson, who was at the meeting, the district is $18 million in the red, which constitutes nearly 6.3 percent of the district’s spending this year.

Johnson said that even with the support of an upcoming levy in November, the district may still be in the red for the next several years.

Still, plans that could potentially curb staggering dropout rates seemed to appeal to attendees. Many parents said they were interested in Webb’s plan, but had questions.

“We support Dr. Webb, but it’s the first I’ve heard of it,” said Gina Simmons of Youngstown. “It sounds like it could really help the struggling [students]”

Meredith Simmons, 15, Gina’s daughter, found the idea of the reconstructed school year somewhat strange.

“I don’t think many people are going to be happy about going to school in summer,” she said.

Webb plans on having several more discussions on “Framing the Future” before any plan is finalized. She said the district is first focused on opening the schools for the beginning of the year.

Another public meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. today at Chaney High School.

sschroeder@vindy.com