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ARCEP presentation: 91 students enrolled; program adjusts schedule and advising to boost persistence
Summary
Dr. Keisha Wilhite told the board the Richfield College Experience Program enrolled 91 students (about 75% seniors, nearly 94% BIPOC) and has shifted to flexible scheduling, rotating teacher prep times and weekly advisor check-ins to improve attendance and credit completion.
Dr. Keisha Wilhite told the Richfield Public Schools board that the district’s Richfield College Experience Program (ARCEP) had 91 students enrolled as of April 27 and that the program serves a high-need population: “just under 94% identify as BIPOC, and 23% qualify for English Learner services, and 13% for special education services,” she said.
Wilhite described several changes intended to keep students on track for graduation, including removing a rigid bell schedule in favor of work sessions throughout the day, rotating teacher prep times so students are more likely to encounter their teachers on different days, and instituting a daily check-in with advisors. She said the program’s Friday check-ins use a “purple sheet” that lists credit needs and weekly goals; advisors review those sheets in student-engagement meetings to track progress.
Wilhite said roughly 75% of ARCEP students are seniors and that about 75% of participants are Richfield residents. She also reported seal-of-biliteracy results and test-based awards at ARCEP and the high school, noting both world-certificate and AP/other test pathways to seals.
Board members asked how the program balances “high support” with “high expectations.” Wilhite replied that expectations remain—students must meet state standards and credit requirements—but that staff account for students’ complex lives, including work and caregiving responsibilities. She described a tiered attendance-response system: advisors contact students after three to five missed days; counselors and social workers respond to six to nine missed days; and office administrators intervene after 10 or more missed days.
Directors also raised concerns about stigma tied to alternative-education pathways and asked what the district is doing to change perceptions. Wilhite and board members discussed recruitment strategies that highlight alumni success stories, noting that past graduates who have positive outcomes often bring peers into the program.
Wilhite emphasized the program’s goal of individual student planning and weekly goal-setting as tools to increase persistence and credit completion. The presentation and follow-up questions ran during the board’s district communications agenda item and received positive recognition from board members.
