"Speak Out" is an expression of opinion from the Editorial Board of WBTV, and is presented by General Manager, Nick Simonette.
At 21, you are old enough to drink, smoke, and no longer need adult supervision.
But, believe it or not - you can be 21 and still be in the ninth grade in CMS.
Listen to this...Last month 80 West Charlotte High school students were identified as failing.
The ages of those struggling students range from 16 to 21...
Imagine that…21 and still stuck in high school....What a mess.
The failing students were asked to leave West Charlotte and told to attend an alternative school.
Some are now refusing to go.
Now, a retiree is being paid nearly 6 thousand dollars a month to convince them to go.
WOW!
This last minute shuffle reveals CMS had no plan in place to deal with the struggling over-aged students.
This should serve as a wake up call.
When a student repeats the ninth grade more than once, alarms should sound.
And there should be early interventions in place to stop this failing cycle.
Obviously, this is not the first time adult students have been found in high school classrooms.
By now, CMS should have found some solutions to help these types of students.
After all, the school district gets more than a billion dollars. Yes, A BILLION a year to educate all students.
We think there should be enough money set aside to prepare these adults -- who are still high school freshmen -- for life.
CMS, get a strategy in place now..
So when a CMS student turns 21, he or she is getting ready to graduate from college, not studying for a ninth grade final exam.
Tell us what YOU think. SpeakOut@wbtv.com.
