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JEH presentation, student internships and proposed bell schedule prompt debate over PE waiver rules
Summary
Teachers and students from JEH (Big Picture Learning) presented student internship outcomes and a final bell schedule recommendation; trustees debated how athletic-season waivers for physical education would apply under current board policy and asked staff to return with implementation details.
Julie Lawson, the advisor for JEH Continuation High School, told the Cloverdale Unified School District board that JEH students participate in internships and that the program has produced improved attendance, college enrollment and career pathways. Students and parents described internships with local employers — including RTS Construction and NorCal Skydiving — and credited JEH with helping several students recover credits and graduate early.
The presentation included a timeline of the bell-schedule committee’s work, a teachers-association MOU approved in a union vote April 11, and student/parent survey feedback. Staff said the recommended schedule uses block days twice weekly and maintains consistent start and end times to improve predictability. District staff also said they worked with Santa Rosa Junior College to align CCAP early-college classes once the schedule is finalized.
Trustees then turned to how the schedule interacts with board policy 6142.7 on physical education exemptions. Staff and the PE teacher outlined an approach that would allow students to apply for a waiver from a second year of PE if they complete a specified number of athletic seasons (staff proposed counting two seasons for grades 10–12; some trustees preferred three seasons). The board discussed equity and implementation concerns: whether freshman athletic participation should count, how to handle injuries that prevent season completion, and how to validate participation (proposed attendance tracking and coach-signed contracts were discussed).
Multiple trustees suggested finishing any athletic-season assessment by the end of a student’s junior year to avoid senior-year graduation delays if an athlete fails to complete a season. Staff committed to working through operational details over the summer — including attendance verification and coach responsibilities — and to return with proposed policy language and implementation procedures before the schedule takes effect.
The board did not change board policy during the meeting; staff said policy revisions or clarifications could be placed on a future agenda.
The meeting included several personal testimonials and a report from a Big Picture Learning representative, who said JEH’s approach had drawn statewide interest and named JEH’s advisor among national peers. Staff emphasized the program’s outcomes (high internship participation, some students enrolled in SRJC classes, and improved attendance) as part of the rationale for the proposed schedule.
The board’s next step: staff will prepare detailed implementation plans for how athletic waivers would be validated and propose any necessary policy language changes for a future meeting.
