The state and Allegheny Intermediate Unit are promising plenty of help in coming weeks as nearly 200 Duquesne students adjust to new schools and the schools adjust to the influx of newcomers.
State Education Secretary Gerald L. Zahorchak announced Friday that students from the former Duquesne High School will be sent to East Allegheny and West Mifflin Area high schools this fall.
The arrangement will continue in future years. Education Department spokesman Mike Race said the state wants the Duquesne students to be considered part of the East Allegheny and West Mifflin districts, not outsiders in "someone else's school."
The decision, which angered some residents of East Allegheny and West Mifflin Area, came about six weeks after Duquesne's state-appointed Board of Control voted to close the high school for financial and academic reasons.
AIU spokeswoman Pat Kennedy said transition services will help Duquesne, East Allegheny and West Mifflin Area make the best of the situation. While planning is in the early stages, she said, services could include anti-bullying programs, tutoring and mentoring programs and teacher training.
The AIU has hired Garrette Edmonds, a former East Allegheny principal, for the new post of transition coordinator. He is being paid $346 a day until the AIU board approves a contract with him.
Meanwhile, Barbara A. Gunn, pastor of Mount Carmel Baptist Church in North Versailles, said she's planning a community event to welcome Duquesne families to East Allegheny. No date has been set.
Pastor Gunn said she's concerned about the Duquesne students' self-esteem because of public sentiment against the state-ordered transfers. She said she wants the students to know that she's among those "who are very concerned about their well-being and who embrace them."
Dr. Zahorchak said 65 percent of the Duquesne students will attend West Mifflin Area High School and 35 percent East Allegheny Senior High School. Duquesne students may register to attend either school, but a lottery will be held if demand for one is too high.
The state will pay East Allegheny and West Mifflin Area nearly $10,000 per Duquesne student--$9,000 for tuition, $385 for transportation and $500 for transition services. Ms. Kennedy said the AIU might seek private grant money to finance some of the transition work.
She said possible services include "resource rooms" at the high schools to offer tutoring to Duquesne students and their new classmates. She said the mentoring could be provided by adults or by East Allegheny and West Mifflin Area students willing to show the newcomers the ropes.
"The idea would be to assimilate them to new environments as quickly as possible and make them feel comfortable," she said.
Ms. Kennedy said teachers could be offered cultural sensitivity and behavior management training. She said the AIU also would be in Duquesne to answer questions about the transfers.
More than 92 percent of the Duquesne students are black. East Allegheny has 590 high school students, 18.6 percent black. West Mifflin Area has 1,100 high school students, 18.5 percent black.
Mr. Race said transition services likely will be needed for two or three years, given the "emotional bent of this issue." After that, he said, the influx of Duquesne students should become routine.
Today, tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday, Duquesne high school students may visit Duquesne Education Center to register for East Allegheny or West Mifflin Area. Registration hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. all four days, plus 6 to 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.
If needed, the lottery will be at 9 a.m. Aug. 3 in the Duquesne auditorium. Students will receive school assignments by mail the week of Aug. 6.
Duquesne will continue operating classes for elementary and middle-grade pupils, with oversight from the AIU. The state awarded the AIU a one-year, $300,000 contract to provide management services.
First Published: July 25, 2007, 6:30 p.m.