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Cloquet to pilot Wednesday-asynchronous schedule for juniors and seniors to retain PSEO students
Summary
Facing rising PSEO participation, the district will pilot one semester of asynchronous Wednesdays for eligible college-course students to keep them on campus and reduce lost funding and instructional disruption.
The Cloquet Public School District announced a pilot program to reduce off‑campus PSEO (Postsecondary Enrollment Options) attrition by offering an asynchronous Wednesday for eligible juniors and seniors who are taking college courses.
Steve (district administrator) told the board that PSEO participation has risen sharply: 24 students took at least one PSEO class in 2021–22 and 81 did so last year. The district reported that as of the meeting 68 students planned to take at least one PSEO course this year; administrators expect that number could increase during the school year. Administrators corrected an early estimate and said the district’s current midpoint estimate of lost revenue to PSEO is in the ballpark of $100,000 rather than the earlier, incorrect million‑dollar figure cited in discussion.
Under the pilot, set to begin Sept. 10 for one semester, teachers of eligible courses would be given the option to participate; participating teachers would provide asynchronous activities on Wednesdays and remain available to students via email or virtual meetings. Students who rely on district transportation or prefer to be on campus on Wednesdays could remain in school and use available space and supervision. The program applies only to juniors and seniors enrolled in qualifying college‑level courses; ninth and tenth graders who are in some on‑campus college classes would not be eligible to participate in the asynchronous Wednesday option.
Administrators said the pilot is intended to keep students on campus more of the time, preserve course enrollments and associated funding, and reduce the number of students leaving for full‑time community college enrollment. The district will collect feedback from students and teachers, track PSEO participation and retention, and report preliminary data at the semester break.
Steve and the superintendent said the pilot mirrors practices other area districts are using and is intended to be reversible if data show it is ineffective. The pilot affects a subset of high‑school college courses that may include art, English, statistics, German, Spanish, government and economics, depending on teacher participation.
