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MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend June 5, 2004 Christopher Walch, 18, experienced �hell� in a traditional high school setting, dogged by problems he didn�t know how to control. After struggling and failing to make it work, an assistant principal at Crater High encouraged him to try Crossroads School. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Trouble to triumph For some students, alternative education offers the right path to finishing high school By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune Christopher Walch likens his high school experience to building with faulty Legos. "When I put one block on, one fell off," he said. Walch was an average student at Crater High School during his freshman and sophomore years. Late in his second year, he started feeling nervous and avoiding groups. His anxiety grew to where he couldn’t handle even individual conversations. The panic prompted seizure-like activity. Advertisement "I remember not being able to breathe and feeling shaky and pressed-in upon," Walch said. "Then I would black out. People said I fell to the ground shaking." He describes the crowded halls between classes as "hell," but the whispers about his episodes that followed in his wake were even worse for an image-conscious teen. As a junior, he shifted to a home-based program with a teacher who visited weekly to bring assignments. Isolated and depressed, Walch attempted suicide in January 2003. After a stay in a behavioral-health unit in Roseburg, he tried to attend Eagle Point High School, but the panic episodes continued and he had to leave. Walch planned to take General Educational Development (GED) tests and be done with school, but Crater Assistant Principal Todd Bloomquist suggested he try Crossroads School, an alternative high school program overseen by Community Works. There, the blocks finally fit together. On Thursday, 18-year-old Walch got his diploma. Not every student is so lucky. Statewide, only 67 percent of students who start high school graduate in four years, according to a report on high school completion prepared by the Oregon Department of Education last year. The remainder drop out, seek an alternative credential such as a GED, or need extra time to finish course work, said principals and counselors around the Rogue Valley. Individual schools sometimes see even steeper drops in enrollment as a class progresses from freshman year to graduation because students move or transfer to private or alternative schools, officials said. "It’s been a trend for many, many years to have those non-completers," said Crater High Principal Karyn Lynch. Still, she said more kids ultimately earn a diploma thanks to an increasing array of alternative schools, programs to make-up credits and chances to continue at school another year. Such options carry less stigma than they did in the past, she claims. Walch said he had negative stereotypes about the students at Crossroads before he went there. He expected to find druggies, pregnant teens and trouble-makers, but discovered ordinary students much like himself. "We had all experienced problems and now we were overcoming them," he said. "I had a sense it was more than a school. It felt like family." Crossroads Principal Marlene Mish said students come to the school when they get behind or exhaust public school resources. They might have struggled with violence, attendance, substance abuse, illness, family problems or bullies, but can thrive with individual attention and classes tailored to their learning styles. "They usually come feeling bad that they didn’t make it," she said. "Sometimes it’s simply a matter of making them see their own worth, then the actions follow." This spring, 20 students earned a diploma from Crossroads. Thirty-four students will graduate from Medford Opportunity High School, the Medford district’s night school. It’s the first year that alternative program has had its own graduation. Students who don’t earn a diploma can get a GED or they can remain in school — until they’re 21 — to eventually earn enough credits for graduation. Continuing students and teens taking the GED test through school aren’t counted as dropouts. "We have a number who started as seniors this year who will return another year," North Medford counselor Ralph Burrelle said. "The GED option is for kids who have no options," said Tonya Sarver who works in North’s GED prep program. Students a full year behind but with satisfactory math and reading skills can take the GED test and head into the work force or to community college, she said. Rogue Community College also offers GED testing and preparation courses for high school-age students or dropouts returning to education, said Bonnie Conard an assistant at the college’s testing center. Many of those people continue their education at Rogue Community College. Walch is glad he continued high school at Crossroads rather than get a GED. He got more than just a diploma and new academic skills. "I learned balance," he said. He got better at communicating and came to recognize what triggered his anxiety. From being unable to have a conversation, he came to enjoy interacting with people and exchanging ideas. He edited the school paper and "fell in love with the English language," he said. Walch plans to keep building his future this summer at RCC with a writing course. Ultimately, he wants to study journalism at Southern Oregon University. Dropouts: Paying the price The most recent state report on high school completion found that 17.4 percent of freshmen who started high school in the fall of 1999 dropped out before graduation last spring. Numbers for the class of 2004 aren’t available yet. Even at schools with relatively low one-year dropout rates, the cumulative effect over four years can thin the ranks dramatically, principals said. In Jackson County, one-year dropout rates averaged 4.3 percent last year, but the county’s four-year average rate was 12 percent, according to Oregon Department of Education statistics. Teens who give up on school and drop out can face a bleak future. Data from the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics show people who didn’t finish high school have much higher rates of unemployment and lower earnings when they do find work compared to people who have diplomas. The unemployment-income gap becomes a chasm as people become more educated. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers