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Show PGHS accreditation suffers ; due to high student-counselor ratio I Principal Neil Christensen of Pleasant Grove High School ad- dressed the PTSA board meeting I last week regarding the school's ' status in regards to accreditation. He noted that Pleasant Grove, I Orem and Mountain View High ' Schools have been downgraded one step by the Northwest Accreditation I Association of which they are i members. i The Association has told the schools that they do not meet the student-counselor ratio required in the standards of the organization. One counselor is required for every 400 students. Pleasant Grove now has about 1,050 students (it had ! about 1,100 students at the first of the year) and only two counselors. The Association first gives a school a notice and if improvement does not come in two years the school is then put on "advise" for two years. Pleasant Grove High School has just been put on "advise." "ad-vise." Christensen said that American Fork High School will join the ranks of the other high schools next fall with its accreditation given notice. If nothing has improved within two years after the "advise" is given a school then it is put on "warning." Then if nothing is done within two years after that a school can lose its accreditation. When this happens, Christensen noted, students graduating from that school may find it difficult to be accepted into certain colleges and universities or other academic programs. Christensen stated that he did not believe that the Northwest Accreditation Ac-creditation Association would lower its standards to accommodate these problems. He said that it is a money issue and the district has put a freeze on hiring counselors, but hopefully they will soon do something about this problem. He said that another concern is the Media Center where PGHS has a director and one aide. They need one more aide. He stated that this is only a minor deviation, however, and should be easy to remedy. He added that with Geneva Steel being on line along with other large companies in the state, such as Morton-Thiokol, Kennecott, and others, that it should help the financial situation of the schools. 1 The principal also told the PTSA ; group that he will become the vocational director for the school ! district next year which means that I the school will be assigned a new j principal for next year. i He said that he felt the move was a good one for him career-wise but was sorry that the students who will be seniors next year will have had a different principal each of their three years in high school. He said that he feels continuity is a real asset to students. Christensen also informed the PTSA of the resignation of Superintendent Clark Cox which becomes effective in June. Cox announces June retirement J ' 4 S v . "t j ; V) , Dr. Clark L. Cox, superintendent of the Alpine School District, would like to put his keys on the desk, leave a note and go out with "little fanfare" fan-fare" when he retires June 30. Cox announced his retirement last week after turning in his resignation to members of the district board of education at their regular monthly ) business meeting March 8. With his retirement, he will end 37 years of service to public education - ,, five of them as superintendent in 11 the Alpine District. In an interview Friday, he said both board members and members I of his staff were "shocked" by his W decision but that the decision was a ors, "Pf sonal decision." "I just decided the timing was 1 right. I've been in education 37 years. I'll be 61 years old this year. I jenust feel this is the time." had6; Cox said he and his wife have been f0rC discussing his retiring over the past ,0tdf-few months. "It isn't a sudden ifuif'aecison." at's'f Cox. s.aid he has good health and 'l 's time 'to close one chapter isfr book open another cnaPter in my e!' "f feel that the experiences in Alpine have been outstanding and iat ''most enjoyable. At the present time, vif the district is financially sound, well organized, and has an excellent educational program. faj "I have learned that the foun-r4 foun-r4 tation of this excellence here is the fa landing teachers, ad- ministrators, and support personnel who are so dedicated and professional. "Add to this, the concern and support offered by parents and the high caliber of students who attend the Alpine schools, and you have one of the finest districts anywhere, bar none. "There are good people here," he said. 'Too many times I've talked with people who have retired and asked them if they were going to do this or that and they said they couldn't because their health wouldn't allow it, or their spouses' health wouldn't allow it. I don't want that to happen to us." Cox came to the Alpine School District five years ago following the resignation of then superindent Max Welcker, taking office on Aug. 1, 1983. Since then, the district has been one of the leaders in the state in going to yearround or extended day schedules because of over-crowding in the classrooms. With 11 schools now on one or other of the schedules, and five more expected to come on board this year, they are ahead of the majority of districts in this area. "We did it even before the state mandated it," Cox said, with parents, teachers, and administration ad-ministration working together to try and find the best schedule for the See COX on page 3 Dr. Clark Cox prepares his last budget proposal for Alpine School District. Cox will retire in June. CO Continued from front page j tempting to do - such as pass the recent AIDS policy. "Because of public input, we came up with a better policy. It (public input) allows both the board and the administration to think through the ramifications of a policy," he said. "On some things there is no right answer," he said. Cox said he "loves" his job -"even the crises." Cox began his career in education as a fifth-sixth grade teacher in Logandale, Nev. Since then he has also served as a principal and assistant principal during his years in education. Before coming to Alpine School District, he was the Superintendent of the Riverside Unified School District in California for five years. Richard Gappmayer, vice president of the district board of education, said the board is "very reluctant to accept the retirement of Superintendent Cox. "His service to the students of this j district has been of the highest j quality, and his leadership through j periods of stress and financial j hardship has maintained the ex- j cellent standard of education we I have come to expect here in the j Alpine School District. Dr. Cox will j be greatly missed." ongsters involved. T have appreciated the way the iple have worked together to ng this about," he said. )uring his time as superintendent, line District has undergone a lot ' policy changes, Cox said, adding believes in policies so patrons are ated with integrity, fairness and sistency. With policies in place, it allows h the board and the ad-ttiistration ad-ttiistration to treat everyone in the leway." ox said he has appreciated the VJic interest - even when it was inst what the board was at- |