School investigation results released
Published 11:59 am Thursday, October 8, 2015
Albert Lea Area Schools officials will examine all National Honor Society applications after the results of their investigation into their 2015-16 Honor Society selection process were released Wednesday.
The school identified multiple errors in their selection process, including:
· The use of quotas in the selection system
· The blind review of candidate packets
· The use of grade point averages for selection purposes. The GPA is only used to determine initial NHS eligibility.
As a part of their findings, the school said scholarship, service, leadership and character will continue to be used as selection criteria. Upon completion of the review, all candidates will be notified of their selection status.
Director of Secondary Programs Kathy Niebuhr investigated the process.
The investigation came after the high school had set the number of eligible Honor Society students at 25 to raise the academic rigor at the high school, said Albert Lea High School Principal Mark Grossklaus in a previous interview. Approximately 38 students applied.
Approximately a week ago, school officials realized National Honor Society doesn’t allow quotas on the amount of students inducted each year, Albert Lea Area Schools Superintendent Mike Funk said earlier this week.
Grossklaus said the decision was an administrative error on his part.
Funk attributed the mistakes to the inexperience of the administration. Grossklaus is in his second year as principal and National Honor Society Adviser Gina Klennert is in her third.
The selection will be reviewed again in November with the release of the 2016 Honor Society handbook.
According to Grossklaus, school officials have no plan to raise the requirements for the Honor Society, but if they did they would have to inform parents and the public ahead of time.