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Board hears STAR Academic High School transfer guidelines; staff outlines eligibility and interventions
Summary
District staff described the criteria and process used to recommend students for transfer to STAR Academic High School, emphasizing credit thresholds, intervention steps, block transfer timing and limited on‑site special education/ELL supports.
Anna Gallegos and STAR Academic High School staff presented recommended transfer guidelines to the board Jan. 14, describing when students should be referred to STAR and what interventions are required before a transfer.
District staff said STAR's mission is to provide a customized setting for students who are not successfully progressing in a traditional high school. Typical referral candidates include seniors who begin the year with fewer than 14 credits or who are below 18 credits at semester; juniors who begin with fewer than seven credits or are below 11 credits at semester; and sophomores who remain below four credits at semester. Staff said services for students with individualized education programs (IEPs) or English language learners are not routinely available at STAR but can be provided through exceptional education on a case‑by‑case basis (for example, an itinerant teacher visit), and the district's exceptional education department will coordinate supports when needed.
Presenters explained that STAR operates on four blocks per year rather than standard semesters; transfers are generally not made more than five days after a block begins because each day at STAR is significant to student progress. The transfer process typically starts with a student conference, followed by parent conferences, targeted interventions — including modified course plans, Saturday interventions, weekend academy, online options and counselor referrals — before a transfer recommendation is made. Staff said the goal is to exhaust targeted interventions at the home school and involve families in planning before a transfer to STAR.
STAR administration told the board that many students who enroll at STAR succeed once they are in the smaller, more individualized environment, and staff described multiple examples of students who caught up on credits and graduated. The board received the information; no formal action was taken.
