Dothan High to hold summit on graduation issues

Dothan High School is hosting a summit to bring teachers and parents together to discuss the Alabama graduation exam and other issues facing the school community.

The Dothan High School Education Summit will be held next Wednesday from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at Greater Beulah Baptist Church. The first-of-its-kind meeting will seek to open a dialogue to help city schools personnel better serve all students.

“We’ve never tried anything like this before,” Julie Turner, school instructional specialist, said in an e-mail. “We are bringing the teachers out of the classroom and to the community. The teachers of Dothan High School are reaching out to the parents of the students they teach every day.”
Stan Eldridge, Dothan High assistant principal, said “What we want to do is work with parents and get them behind us. We’re just trying to reach out to John Q. Public.”

Summit organizers hope to draw at least 200 participants. Turner said parents at the meeting would receive information from teachers about the different high school diploma options available to students and the Alabama High School Graduation Exam, a test students must pass in order to graduate. Increasing the number of students passing the exam is critical for
both Dothan High and Northview High School this year, because the two schools have not met federal No Child Left Behind Act goals.

If the two schools fail to make adequate yearly progress this year, they will begin facing sanctions, including a possible state takeover, which would give the
Alabama Department of Education sweeping powers over the schools, including the ability to dismiss teachers and administrators.