District expands credit-recovery and ties activities participation to academic progress

The Albert Lea Public School District board approved an updated activities handbook and heard a presentation on a revamped credit-recovery program that district staff say is designed to keep more students academically eligible for extracurricular activities.

The board accepted the activities handbook as presented. Activities Director Dave Langroud described partnerships between the activities department, principals and counseling/credit-recovery staff to ensure students are “on pace to graduate” before they participate in activities. He said coaches are allowing credit-deficient students to attend supervised after-school sessions to complete work before practice.

Credit recovery: schedule, participation and outcomes

Credit recovery coordinator Jen Hensel described the program details. Hensel said the district runs Monday/Tuesday after-school recovery sessions and one Saturday a month from 8:00 a.m. to noon. She said typical Saturday attendance is “25 to 35 students” and cited one Saturday (October 11) when students earned six credits during the four-hour block. Hensel said the program emphasizes positive celebration: students who complete credits “ring the bell” and staff and coaches celebrate the achievement together.

Participation trends

Activities staff provided fall participation comparisons showing growth across most programs. Examples reported by the director included: - Girls soccer: increased from 43 to 55 participants; - Boys soccer: increased from 51 to 78 participants; - Volleyball: 123 participants.

Langroud and board members discussed possible contributors to higher participation, including restored middle-school programming, coach involvement at the junior-high level, and removal of prior participation fees several years ago. Langroud said transportation remains a barrier for some families for Saturday programs; Saturday transportation is not provided and the district does provide some after-school transportation on Monday/Tuesday sessions in limited cases.

Specialized/adapted activities

Langroud said district staff and families have begun meetings about an adapted activities offering for students with special needs. He said seven families attended a recent information meeting and district staff are collecting additional data and exploring whether neighboring districts might partner on an adapted program.

Technology and coach access to student data

Board members asked whether coaches can view students’ grades and attendance in near-real time. Langroud said coaches receive attendance and emergency information via mobile apps (Arbiter) and that grades and discipline data are compiled and shared every two weeks; he said coaches can pull attendance and other basic information on their phones and that the district now runs periodic grade checks to enforce eligibility.

Quotes from the presentation

“Activities are education and a big part of education,” Activities Director Dave Langroud said, describing the department’s shift to proactive academic monitoring. Credit recovery coordinator Jen Hensel said: “Our first Saturday school of the year was on October 11 and we had six credits earned in that four-hour block — that is phenomenal.”

Ending

The board approved the activities handbook by voice vote (6–0). Board members asked staff to explore transportation options for Saturday programs and to return with details about adapted activities and further participation trends.