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Internship expansion and staffing requests clash with new state math placement rules
Summary
With internship enrollment surging to 44 students next year, Westlake administrators proposed reassigning a teacher to coordinated internships and requested a 0.5 FTE at Bernison to address large class sizes and mandated intervention tied to House Bill 96 and potential Senate Bill 19 changes.
Paul Wilson, who oversees secondary programming, told the board the district's internship program has grown rapidly and staff are rearranging assignments so a teacher can coordinate employer partnerships and placements. "We actually have 44 students lined up currently," Wilson said, noting the need to remove a teacher from regular classroom duties to support the program.
At Bernison, administrators proposed adding 0.5 full‑time equivalent (FTE) to address large general‑education class sizes (reported averages of 26–28 students) and to provide daily intervention and enrichment services. The recommendation reflects recent legislative changes and expected monitoring requirements.
Administrators summarized two legislative items they said affect math placement and intervention: House Bill 96, which expands advanced‑learning placement considerations from early grades through Algebra II and requires districts to offer advanced‑learning opportunities for students who score at the top of assessments; and Senate Bill 19 (pending), which would require seventh‑grade students scoring a 4 or 5 to be placed in Algebra I unless parents opt out. Staff warned that SB19, if enacted as described, could force students into high‑school transcripted courses and complicate scheduling and transcript outcomes.
District officials emphasized parental opt‑out rights but said the district will need transitional instructional options ("band‑aid" courses) and summer/intervention services to bridge gaps if students are advanced early. Administrators also noted successes from the district math lab and reported a roughly 20% increase in passing rates on a recent winter algebra assessment after math‑lab interventions.
The board discussed possible staffing solutions and cross‑building coverage to avoid disrupting successful math‑lab programming while meeting growing internship coordination needs.
