Sometimes students require flexibility. Powell High School wants to keep this in mind when it comes to dual and concurrent enrollment offerings through Northwest College. 

Recently, there have been a small number cases where the school has seen a need for flexibility on its failure requirement regarding dual and concurrent enrollment classes, said Tim Wormald, Powell High’s principal, during the Nov. 28 school board meeting. 

The way the policy is written, if a student fails a college level course they then can’t take any more through Powell High School. He provided an example of a student he has been working with who experienced mental health issues and family trauma — “education was not a priority for her in that moment,” he said — but Wormald called her an intelligent and “very good student.” He also added that she now has the support she needs and it is both his and the opinion of the student’s counselor that she is once again ready for a college course.

“It's something that doesn't come up very often, but it comes up enough that we consider those individual circumstances and give that opportunity when that seems justified,” Wormald said. “And again, it would be the exception, not the rule.”

Wormald also recommended removing language that would allow freshmen and sophomores to enroll as well as language that would allow exceptions to the minimum GPA requirement.

“One of the things that we have found for students to be successful in those courses is a level of maturity and a level of experience that they gained through their time at the high school,” Wormald said. “ And we haven't had freshmen and sophomores take college classes. We want them really to get a good foundation and the focus on the core classes at that point is so heavy that there's really not any room in their schedule anyways to take those kinds of classes.”

In regards to the GPA requirement Wormald said that most of the time, having a requisite GPA works but there are circumstances where an exception may be required.

There are students who mature by their senior year and if the school feels like they are ready for dual or concurrent enrollment, “we want to give those students the opportunity to take them,” Wormald said. 

In order to determine when a student might need an exception a student form may be created. It would be filled out and submitted to Wormald and the student’s counselor for review.

School board chairman Kim Dillivan said the results “seemed very reasonable.” No other discussion took place on the potential policy changes. 

The policy changes will be submitted for a first reading during the Dec. 12 school board meeting.