Manitowoc committee approves alternative pathways plan, pursues recovery high school and virtual options

The Curriculum and Instruction Committee approved a district plan called MPSD Pathways to Success that reorganizes alternative programming at McKinley, seeks a recovery high school planning and implementation grant, and establishes a local virtual/asynchronous option intended to restore students who currently open‑enroll to other districts.

Stephanie Bunch, administrator at the Stable Learning Community, described the McKinley restructuring and how existing programs will be combined. She explained that the Revive program serves students placed off-site “as a result of disciplinary issues,” including short-term placements and abeyance agreements that can extend for a school year depending on the terms.

Under the plan, McKinley programming will include grade‑banded academic core times, credit recovery labs for seniors, character education, project-based learning and community-based experiences. Staff said the district will preserve students’ affiliation with Lincoln High School for purposes such as graduation while attending alternative programming, and the model can accommodate students from neighboring districts on a per‑seat basis.

The plan includes a recovery high school pathway and a two-stage funding approach: a current planning grant the district must spend now and a follow‑on implementation grant expected to be a minimum of $100,000. Staff outlined a partnership approach that will convene community human services, mental health and addiction/recovery providers, and the district plans a site visit to the Peace Academy recovery high school in St. Paul as part of planning.

Katie Eichmann, district staff, described a virtual option using the Ingenuity platform the district already subscribes to. Eichmann said the earlier virtual charter had low enrollment because it required synchronous daily schedules; the revised option will emphasize asynchronous flexibility to meet family needs and could be offered at no additional platform cost. She said the district would notify about 80 students who currently open‑enroll elsewhere that the district now offers a locally supported online option, with the aim of increasing local enrollment and state aid.

Staff described an implementation approach that uses existing McKinley staff to absorb the program initially, with the possibility of adding staff if enrollment increases. The district also plans monthly oversight meetings and a community partner consortium to create referral and funding agreements with the six county school districts.

Committee members approved a motion to adopt the MPSD Pathways to Success vision and proceed with planning and grant activities. Staff said they will return to the board in June or July with the results of planning visits and the full implementation proposal.