Trenton super halts plan to close Daylight/ Twilight school
TRENTON » Daylight/Twilight High School is safe for now.
Trenton Superintendent Fred McDowell slowed his roll on a controversial plan to close the alternative high school, The Trentonian has learned.
McDowell, who became superintendent at the start of the school year, was scheduled to outline the ending of some of the school’s programs at Monday’s school board meeting. Most notably, the superintendent wanted to eliminate the adult education component of Twilight for students looking to get a second shot at a degree.
Leadership from the Trenton teachers union said McDowell informed them at a meeting Thursday that he would hold off on his proposal at this time and it was removed from the meeting’s agenda.
The thought of it even being brought without public input outraged the Trenton Education Association (TEA).
“Why was he going to put it on the agenda before talking to the community anyway?” TEA President Naomi Johnson-Lafleur questioned. “He’s been here six months and is trying to make major changes that will negatively impact the community. McDowell needs to communicate and collaborate. He’s only pulling the item as the result of the meeting that he had with TEA leadership at 2 p.m. today. We gave him history of the school and why we have it.”
According to a statement from the district on Wednesday, McDowell sought to retire the school code, meaning the facility would have remained open, but be restructured.
The district said programs would have been provided to new students that need support because of language challenges, low-performing students who failed key courses and adjudicated youth to support transition from incarceration back into learning.
“The goal of the proposal is to provide support to students that will help them get the needed support to transition into the new high school to benefit from a state-of-the-arts high school and the programs that will support college and career readiness,” the district said in a statement attributed to Board President Gene Bouie.
However, the Twilight part of the school would be moved to Mercer County Community College (MCCC), which is “better prepared to support a career or college track for adults,” the district said.
Surprisingly, MCCC said discussions with the district “only began about a week ago” and that only one meeting has been held.
“There are a number of details that have to be worked out, which would remain contingent on discussion and subsequent action by members of the Trenton School Board,” MCCC spokesman Jim Gardner said Thursday. “The primary focus of this arrangement is to provide additional services and value to adult learners, with these services to be provided at the MCCC James Kerney Campus in Trenton.”
The Twilight students currently attend school for free.
What has not been worked out with MCCC is tuition and the structure of the program, Gardner said, noting those issues would have to be addressed by McDowell.
Numerous teachers and students reached out to The Trentonian about how McDowell’s decision would negatively impact them and the
community.
A common theme floating around is that McDowell did not like how Daylight/Twilight’s (DTHS) graduation rate brought down the district’s overall average.
“DTHS is a unique high school and cannot be fairly evaluated on a piece of paper,” said Diane Davies, a cosmetology teacher at the school. “At DTHS it is not about meeting a graduation rate. Our jobs are about transforming lives, thus graduating individuals who will be contributing members to the community. As advocates for all our children, we should not just be committed to educating students who can fit into a traditional high school setting.”
One student in the Twilight program said in a letter to the district that the school has helped them “grow more as a student and as a person.” “This school has helped me find my way and I would like for that to continue in the future for teens like me who need a helping hand to point them in the right direction,” the letter reads. “Especially with everything going on in this city, school gives us peace of mind and safety, so why take that away from teens who are trying their hardest to succeed.”
Daylight/Twilight, which is now located at the old Cadwalader School on Edgewood Avenue, was brought to Trenton in the early 2000s under the leadership of former Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer.
The Twilight aspect of the school allowed students who worked during the day to attend night classes to earn a degree.
Palmer said Thursday he commended McDowell for taken a step back so the idea “can be properly explained to the parents and teachers.”
The teachers union hopes McDowell will enter into “true collaborative discussions as to improving the existing program.”
“The Association reminded the superintendent of the negative stigma the district received when it was ranked 610 out of 611 and we vowed never again to have that label,” said Janice Williams, TEA’s grievance chair. “When people are invited to collaborate positive results can come about. McDowell needs to learn that Trenton has a strong community voice that cannot be ignored. Promises made, promises kept.”