Posted: 5/10/05
BCLO students praise alternative school
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Eric Padrnos is a student at Bluff Country Learning Options (BCLO), and heís also a good salesman for the school.
He was one of many kids who gave tours to people at the alternative high school in Hokah on April 29. He spoke with a lot of enthusiasm and conviction about the school, which he started attending in January of this year.
ìWe work together, we play together,î Padrnos, 16, told tour participants Julie Arentz and Tammy Thesing at the end of the two-hour-long open house that afternoon.
Students can work at their own pace, and there is no homework, Padrnos said.
People have the perception of drug use by students who attend BCLO, Padrnos said. ìThey think BCLO is a school that has a bad reputation,î he said. But thatís not true, he quickly added. ìItís just a great school.î
Arentz, the guidance counselor at La Crescent High School, said she appreciated the tour. She feels people donít always hear the studentsí side of things. ìLike he said, itís a perfect setting for Eric.î
Savanna Calloway, 17, gave some of the same reasons for attending BCLO as Padrnos. She held another reason in her arms ñ her 15-month-old son, Tyrell.
Calloway came to BCLO because she was having behavior problems at La Crescent High School. She attended the middle level BCLO program located within the high school building in La Crescent before going to the Hokah facility, which is for grades 10-12.
When she became pregnant last year, the school was supportive. Teachers taught her what she would be going through.
She also likes how the rules are different. For example, clothing rules are less strict.
Alex Schomers joined our conversation. He said homework at his old school was a big issue for him. Too much? ìOh yeah,î he answered.
Padrnos feels that testing is overdone at regular high schools.
Many reasons for attending
John Haugan, site director of the school, said BCLO students come for a variety of reasons. Students have to identified as ìat riskî of not graduating from high school before they can attend BCLO. They may have fallen behind their peers academically, they may be teen parents, or they may be in placements outside their home.
Basically the school is for kids in need of a little extra attention, Haugan said. He feels the staff understands the importance of building a relationship with kids.
There are hundreds of area learning centers in Minnesota. They are very popular in the Twin Cities, Haugan said. ìMinnesota has really been kind of a quiet leader in alternative education,î he said.
Haugan, who has been with the program since it started in 1991, feels the school had a great relationship with staff of other schools, and that there is no jealousy. He would like to see the kids assimilate into traditional high schools.
Middle school too
Amy Cordry was at the open house too. She directs an alternative school called Bluff Country Learning Options Middle Level.
The Middle Level, which located in two separate school at the middle school in La Crescent, operates ìclose to the bone,î Cordry said. ìLa Crescent has been a wonderful financial host,î she said. ìThey feed most of the money back into the school. And the program has done nothing but grow since 1991.î
Yet traditional schools are providing better service than in the past, Cordry feels, and more students are going back into traditional programs.
She likes the fact that BCLO has staff like teen support worker, family support worker, and a work skills coordinator. ìWe access support in as many areas as we can find it,î she said.
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