Arkansas Avenue Gateway Alternative Program

Gateway Alternative Program

The Arkansas Avenue/Gateway Alternative programs serve qualifying regular and special education students in sixth through twelfth grades who have been expelled or suspended long-term from other schools in the Wichita School District.

The program serves students who show evidence of understanding appropriate social behavior, but who have a history of poor behavioral choices in the school setting. All accepted students will continue their progress toward a high school diploma while receiving counseling and support to change self-defeating behaviors.

Placement occurs through a suspension/expulsion hearing. If a hearing officer recommends that a student be considered for acceptance into the Gateway Program, an assessment for placement in the Gateway program is conducted by qualified mental health professionals. Parents cannot place students directly into the program, nor can they request placement. Students accepted into Gateway remain in the program for the length of their expulsion, and then return to a comprehensive school.

Arkansas Avenue Alternative Educational Setting Program

This program is for special education students who have violated Board policies at their base school. The AES program serves sixth through twelfth grade students who are entitled to special education services but cannot attend their base school due to behavior or disciplinary reasons. The Special Education Division of USD 259 makes all placements into this program; parents do not have the option to place their child into this program without consent of the district's Special Education Division.

Arkansas Avenue middle school students enter the Program two or more years behind grade level (on the average) in reading and math. At the end of the 05-06 school year, these students showed significant gains in both academic areas, gaining an average of 1.2 grade levels in math, and comparable gains in reading.

All high school students at Arkansas Avenue earn credits toward graduation in the core academic areas, and will return to their base schools effectively on track for graduation.

Of the students who attend the Arkansas Avenue/Gateway Program, 85% successfully return to their base schools, and succeed both behaviorally and academically.

Exit I-135 at 21^st St. Go west on 21^st to Arkansas. Go north on Arkansas to 33^rd Street. Arkansas Avenue School is on the west side of Arkansas. See Maps for all USD 259 locations.

The mission of The Arkansas Avenue Alternative Programs is to ensure that all students learn the skills and acquire the knowledge and focus necessary for success at continuing stages of their lives.

This mission will be fulfilled when the staff has:

• Provided an intensive, individualized support system for the academic and social success of students out of the educational mainstream;
• Involved the parents and other support systems in the student’s educational plan;
• Kept all students on track within the District’s aligned curriculum;
• Utilized all district and community resources to aid and benefit the student;
• Empowered all students to achieve a positive level of respect for self and others;
• Aided the student in assuming personal responsibility for their decisions and behaviors;
• Emphasized the responsibilities of membership in the school, city, nation and world communities.

1. Students will demonstrate an ability to use interpersonal and social skills needed to successfully participate in comprehensive educational programs after leaving Gateway.
2. Students will improve the quality of their writing skills across the curriculum.
3. Students’ reading skills and comprehension levels will improve.
4. Students’ math skill levels will improve.

Arkansas Avenue/Gateway Programs serves students from all middle and high schools in USD 259, and does not have its own site council.

The Gateway Alternative Program provides a unique opportunity for students who are expelled or have been given an extended term suspension by a district hearing officer. Students participate in an academic and counseling program in lieu of complete removal from the district.

All students are provided with accredited academic courses tailored to individual needs and abilities, allowing them to continue to advance within the district’s aligned curriculum. The program focuses on core subjects of Math, Science, Language Arts and Social Studies.

In addition to the academic work, Gateway students are required to participate in daily group and individual counseling programs to address the behaviors that have led to their removal from the educational mainstream.

Since expelled students are denied the privilege of participating in district extracurricular activities, students at Arkansas Avenue are expected to focus their efforts on academic and behavioral improvement.

The Arkansas Avenue School District 1 was formed in 1922 with the following men serving on the first Board of Education: D.S. Hill, director; M.S. Wood, Ernest R. Johnson, H.D. Heller and Jake Martin. Bonds were voted, and a two-room school building was completed in 1923.

Prior to the 1923 school term, pupils from District 120 attended a small white frame school, called Riverside, located on the east side of Arkansas Avenue and north of 37^th Street. This school became so overcrowded that pupils could attend only one-half day sessions. Apparently, the land owners north of 37^th Street had few children and were not interested in building additional classrooms; therefore, it became necessary to organize the new School District 120.

The school opened in September 1923 with 77 pupils. John Dunkelberger served as principal-teacher, and Myrtle Hickcox taught the lower grades.

A strong community spirit of pride developed, with the school being the focal point of community activities. Many people grew up in the community, and the third generation of children attended the school in 1970.

An active Parent-Teacher Association was organized on October 23, 1923 with the principal, John Dunkelberger, serving as the first president. The P.T.A. grew from 56 members in 1923 to 643 in 1958. The P.T.A. rendered many services to the school, such as starting a hot lunch program, buying stage curtains, and providing books and equipment.

There have been seven additions to the original building because of increases in enrollment. Major additions were made in 1931, 1942, 1947, 1951, 1953, 1961 and 1963. The present building has 28 regular classrooms, a library, a lunch room that seats 220 pupils, a gymnasium and adequate office facilities.

School District 120 was annexed to Unified School District 259 in 1964. The school continued to serve pupils from kindergarten through the eighth grade during the 1964-65 school year, after which the school enrolled pupils in kindergarten through the sixth grade.

At the beginning of the 1988-89 year, sixth grade students were incorporated into the middle school program, leaving a PK-5 enrollment of approximately 300 students.

At the April 8, 1996 meeting, the Board of Education approved the closing of Arkansas Avenue School at the end of the 1995-96 school year, with students sent to Earhart and Cloud.

From A History of Wichita Public School Buildings, c 1997


 

During the summer of 1996, the Board of Education approved a proposal to expand the Gateway program to include a long-term program for students expelled from the district. This expansion proposal retained the assessment, screening and treatment component of the original Gateway Program. In addition to this, the Board of Education added an academic program, allowing expelled students to continue their work toward graduation under a probationary status. Seven teachers, two security guards, two paraprofessionals, and a part-time clerical worker were added to the staff to accommodate a projected population of 100-plus students. In addition to the staff procured within the district’s employee pool, a full-time Treatment Coordinator was hired through a contract with Com-Care (formally Sedgwick County Mental Health).

The Arkansas Avenue Elementary School was then converted to a secure building for housing expelled middle and high school students. The Gateway Alternative Program was the successful integration of three separate programs: The Maude Carpenter Alternative Middle School, the Sowers Alternative High School (regular education), and the Gateway Counseling Program.

In the Fall of 2005, The Gateway Alternative Program was staffed with nine teachers, one paraprofessional and two security officers. Support staff, a third security officer, clerical staff and custodial staff were shared by all programs on the Arkansas Avenue Campus. Gateway also serves as a clinical setting at which area Schools of Social Work assign interns for valuable group and individual therapeutic experience.

Arkansas Avenue Alternative Educational Setting (AES)

The AES Program was started during the 1997-98 school year to serve students with disabilities who required special education services during temporary removal from their base schools. Most of these placements were for 30-45 days while the base school’s Child Study Team conducted a reevaluation and Manifestation Determination. The program was staffed in 1997 with two high school teachers, one middle school teacher, three paraprofessionals and a security officer.

In 2004, faced with a rapidly-increasing expulsion rate among students with disabilities for violent or drug-related crimes, the USD 259 Office of Special Education began assigning special ed students who had been expelled by the District Hearing Officer to the Arkansas Avenue AES. These students receive their Free and Public Education in the AES setting for the duration of their expulsion, which is usually one school year.

Arkansas Avenue Computerized Education Center

The Arkansas Avenue Computerized Education Center was created by the Board of Education during the 2001-02 school year to offer limited academic services to students expelled for “Transferred Intent Battery” of a staff member. This Program offers three hours of middle school classes and three hours of high school classes daily during the 186-day expulsion that this particular offense mandates. It is staffed by one teacher.