The Glen Cove Board of Education met on Monday, Aug. 22 and introduced the district's plan for an alternative high school, called "a brainchild" of School Superintendent Dr. Larry Aronstein by board president Richard Tortorici. The school-within-a-school is designed to meet the needs of students who have demonstrated difficulty succeeding in a traditional school program and have disengaged themselves from the standard school experience.

The Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Glen Cove is a collaboration among the Glen Cove School District, the Boys & Girls Club and the Glen Cove Youth Bureau. The program is designed to reverse the cycle of student failure by offering at-risk students a learning environment in which they feel comfortable, teachers they can trust, and the sense that they are involved in something that is worthwhile and offers immediate recompense and reward.

The Academy will be implemented as a real business enterprise wherein students will earn money by sharing in the business profits. There will also be an emphasis on volunteerism with students performing community service such as visiting nursing homes and hospitals, assisting teachers and students in the pre-K program, or distributing food to the needy. According to Dr. Aronstein, students will come to learn and appreciate the connection that good work and appropriate behavior result in a dividend. Students will earn points which will translate into financial rewards based on the profits of the business.

All members of the Academy will be students who have demonstrated chronic behavior problems leading to suspensions, chronic absence and failing academics, participation in the program will be in exchange for promotion to the next grade. The alternative will be retention, which for some students could be for the second time.

Membership in the Academy is for one academic year. After that, students will be given a role working with an adult mentor in the school or community. Graduates of the program will have the opportunity to serve as guides to new enrollees. The program will also require parental permission and will strongly encourage parental involvement.

At the same time, the students will meet New York State academic requirements through a curriculum designed to integrate content with the business enterprise, and all students will be prepared for, and expected to pass, required Regents exams. The staff of the Academy will consist of a math, science, social studies and English teacher. Teachers will give special attention to development of academic and social skills such as conflict resolution, team learning and positive student habits and organizational skills. There will be a consistent focus on building relationships between staff members and students.

The Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Glen Cove will not employ a conventional structure, as the members of the Academy are students who have previously experienced difficulty with conventional structure. According to Dr. Aronstein, teachers will use the DWIT philosophy: Do What It Takes. "Last year, Glen Cove Schools had 46 superintendent suspensions or expulsions," he explained. "There is no reason to believe that if we continue with 'business as usual' we won't have the same number year after year." The continuing problem of student suspension needs to be addressed in new and creative ways, and the alternative school is one way the board is addressing safety, security and student success, he said. Also, the alternative school will not cost the district any additional money, as tutoring costs and fees for superintendents' hearings for suspended students will no longer be expended and can be put into the Academy. Dr. Aronstein remarked, "I know this is aggressive and gutsy for a superintendent who has just been on the job for six weeks, but I have a zealous spirit. I also believe we need to stop throwing money, and kids, on the junk pile." He concluded by saying, "My knowledge in this area is based on experience. I began a program of this kind 20 years ago in a school where I was serving as principal. That program is still in existence today, more profitable than ever."

The Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Glen Cove will be housed at the Boys & Girls Club on Glen Cove Avenue.

Other safety and security measures for the new school include the installation of surveillance cameras in the high school and the hiring of an attendance teacher to monitor truancy.

It was also announced that the Connolly and Landing Schools are ready for the fifth grade to move in, although final approval by the state board of education has not yet been made.