‘Culture has changed’ at school

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By PJ Ferguson

The consensus at the Whitehall Junior-Senior High School is that the “ship has tightened” and the “culture has changed” over the past three years.

In what was a district in shambles just four years ago with administrative turnovers, student debauchery, and academic and athletic scandals, the tide has begun to turn at Whitehall.

Whitehall high school principal Jeff Keller inspects a student’s bag in between classes.

Before sitting down with school superintendent Patrick Dee for an interview, he provided the Whitehall Times with a three-page report detailing all the changes that have been instituted since he was appointed in 2016.

“Our primary goal was providing more opportunities for students, and the options were pretty limited before,” said Dee. ‘

Since 2016, the high school has added 20 new classes. Electives such as United States military history, financial literacy, journalism, agriculture and many others are keeping students out of study halls and in classes.

“Before kids could have three to four study halls daily, with the increase in electives we have cut that down to one to two,” said Dee, adding that all of the credit goes to the teachers for stepping up and “always doing what is best for the students.”

Students are also being offered college credit courses through SUNY Albany and Adirondack Community College, where Whitehall faculty teaching the courses are considered adjuncts of those institutions. This is a big contrast from AP courses which traditionally have a reputation of not transferring credits over to some colleges.

 

This is only a preview of the story published in the Whitehall Times. To read the full story, pick up a print copy of this week’s paper at the newsstand or read it online here.