FARMINGTON – The director of Franklin County Adult Education told Mt. Blue School District directors this week he is seeing more students who have been expelled or dropped out of high school, and his office is trying to keep them connected to the educational system.

“Once they are out of the system, if we don’t have a way to get them back, they could be headed toward welfare or prison,” Ray Therrien explained to the SAD 9 board Tuesday night.

He said his office works with expelled students in partnership with Mt. Blue High School and the Foster Technology Center. After the school board makes the decision to expel, a reference is made to his office from the high school the next day.

“We see more and more young people coming to us and our goal is to keep them involved,” Therrien said. “We try to hook them into something that relates to them and that will give them credits that count toward their graduation.”

The school board is looking at ways to help kids who have been expelled or drop out stay connected to the system. Earlier this month, directors received a report on recent expulsion history and how many of those students worked with the adult education program on an alternative education plan.

According to the report, there were 13 expulsions from Mt. Blue in the past eight years, with an average of 1.6 per year. Ten of those students, or 77 percent, petitioned the school board and were readmitted when their suspension period expired. The school lost track of the other three.

Thirty-eight percent of those expelled went on to graduate with either a high school diploma or a General Education Development certificate.

Therrien said in the 2008-09 school year, his office provided services to 97, 16- to 20 year-olds from all five Franklin County high schools. About 75 percent of them were from Mt. Blue. These people either had dropped out, were expelled, or had other educational needs, he said.

The reasons young people stop going to school are myriad, he said. It can be a serious illness, poor home environment, homelessness, or legal problems, in spite of the work done by support staff at the high school to try to keep them in school.

Therrien said he also sees students who transferred from other schools and need to pick up a class or two to graduate. Or, they had to retake a course they failed.

“For whatever reason, they’ve had their education interrupted and that is the most critical thing to prevent,” he said.

He said 182 courses were provided to youths in 2008-09, helping them attain a high school diploma, a GED, or earn an adult education certificate in areas such as medical technician and medical terminology.

Between 2004 and 2009, these classes generated $116,571 in state education aid for the school districts.

Therrien said once a student is expelled, they are invited to the adult education office along with a parent or guardian to discuss the next step.

“Do they want to re-enter school or go in another direction? And we need to get a sense of their commitment,” he said.

Once on the adult education track, students can also sign up for programs that help them succeed in the world of work or college, and they can register and apply for financial aid for the Franklin County Community College Network, which brings college courses to sites in Franklin County.

“What we are looking for is a seamless pathway for education from prekindergarten to adult,” he said.

School board member and former board Chairman Ray Glass said the process of readmitting an expelled student is stringent. A student has to fill out a detailed questionnaire and then go before the board to explain what they’ve accomplished while they were out of school. They must demonstrate they are serious about returning and about changing their behavior, such as getting counseling.

It is to their credit if they have become involved with adult education and have moved forward with their education, Glass said.

“Ray’s presentation was excellent and he made an important point – we need to make the transition as seamless as possible, so if they leave school, they go to adult ed, and when they come back to school, it is through adult ed,” Glass said.

“For the past five years or so, at the recommendation of the principal, the district has become more and more concerned with maintaining a link with these students and keeping the door open. Adult ed is that link and it works,” he said.