Students who are having trouble in the Franklin Regional School District might have an option to make sure they stay on the right path in life.
Representatives from Performance Learning Centers addressed the Franklin Regional School Board on Mon-day to discuss whether the district would be interested in sending problem students to its new facility.
Performance Learning Centers plans to open a school at St. Paul Church in Hempfield Township to serve local districts. The center helps students who are having difficulty in class and might plan to drop out stay in school and prepare for college or the work force.
Dawn Kelley, from Communities in Schools, which organizes the centers, said the school can improve the district's dropout rate by giving students an alternative way to graduate.
"These students will belong to your district," Kelley said.
To send students to the school, districts need to buy slots for them. Each slot costs $6,000 a year.
Linda Smith, who works with Communities in Schools in southwestern Pennsyl-vania, said she hoped the district would consider 10 slots but D'Arcangelo said that number could be closer to five if the school officials decide to invest in the program.
Thirty-six schools are active throughout the country, most in Georgia where the program began. Kelley said they can help students who have chronic problems.
"They're late for school, they're absent a lot, they're students who have just sort of lost interest," Kelley said.
Smith said the schools have had a great deal of success.
"We've learned that with smaller learning centers and with teams surrounding the kids, we have a 100 percent graduation rate," Smith said.
Superintendent Emery D'Arcangelo said representatives from Communities in Schools have been addressing officials from other districts to promote the program. He said it was being presented as one option to help those students in need.
"We do have a certain number of students who don't complete the on campus options," he said.
High school principal Tina Burns said the district currently has a 96 percent graduation rate.
D'Arcangelo said no decision has been made on whether to commit to the school.