The Baltimore school system will "stretch" the criteria used to place disruptive students at its alternative middle school, which should increase its enrollment and remove more troubled children from regular schools, Superintendent Walter G. Amprey said yesterday.
Responding to criticisms voiced by City Council members during a public hearing last month, he revised his previous position that Woodbourne Academy would be limited to those students whose behavior problems were most serious or anti-social.
Last month, 3rd District Councilman Martin O'Malley criticized the school system for not using Woodbourne Academy enough. Woodbourne is at an annex to William H. Lemmel Middle School.
The four-year-old program, run by the nonprofit Woodbourne Center Inc. since 1994, recently had only 17 students even though it receives $500,000 a year to provide services to 60, Mr. O'Malley said at last month's hearing, which was continued last night.
The target population for the school includes middle schoolers who have been suspended or expelled for weapons possession or violent behavior. It also includes students identified by principals as "representing a serious threat or danger to others."
"We're going to be a little more preventive," Dr. Amprey said yesterday. He said some students now may be referred to Woodbourne if their behaviors indicate the program will help them, even if official assessments are incomplete.
Staff training is needed so that referred students do not become permanently labeled as troublemakers, he said.
Sheila Kolman, president of the school principals association, speaking at last night's hearing, said that principals have been encouraged to begin making referrals and that one or two students have already been admitted to the academy. She said up to 15 are expected to be transferred by April.
According to school system documents, the Woodbourne Academy's task is to prepare students for their return to regular classrooms. The length of a student's stay can range from an academic quarter to a full school year, depending on the case.