9 Apr 2009
School Board OKs Plan to Repurpose W.W. Samuell and H. Grady Spruce High Schools
DALLAS—The Dallas ISD School Board voted to approve the contingency plan for W.W. Samuell and H. Grady Spruce high schools to become International/Global Studies High Schools. Under current law, the district is required to submit a contingency plan in the event that an Academically Unacceptable (AU) Year 3 campus is rated AU Year 4 or AU Year 5 and the commissioner orders closure. The plan was developed to comply with this mandate in the event that either Samuell or Spruce receives a rating of AU Year 5 and the commissioner orders closure of the campus. Both campuses are currently rated AU Year 4.
The results from the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) will not be released until May or early June. If the commissioner orders closure, the campuses would be repurposed as schools of choice with new names, new staff, and curriculums offering core programs of study. The district would also launch a recruitment plan to encourage students from across the district to attend the repurposed campuses.
Under the plan, International/Global Studies High Schools would be set up to allow students to take courses in the core programs of study including: International Cultural Studies Arts, Communication and Humanities; Global Engineering and Information Technology; and Global Marketing and Business Management.
The new schools would not require students to have a certain grade-point average to attend, but students may be required to maintain a certain grade-point average to remain in the program.
In the event that both Spruce and Samuell are ordered to close, Spruce would be repurposed as a 9th and 10th grade center and Samuell would be repurposed as an 11th and 12th grade center. Both campuses would be schools of choice for international/global studies open to students across the district.
Plans were also developed in the event that only one campus is ordered to close. Spruce would be repurposed as an International/Global Studies High School in arts, business and technology. Samuell would be repurposed as a 9th and 12th grade campus. The school would offer a rigorous college and career-based curriculum. A grade would be added each year.
"This is all very exciting, and yet I feel good about the progress that both Spruce and Samuell are making this year," said Superintendent of Schools Michael Hinojosa. "However, if these plans have to be put in place, I'm confident that they will bring great educational opportunities to students of Dallas ISD."
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