Running Header: Problem Analysis and Solution

Organizational Problem Analysis

and Solution

University of Northern Colorado

Annalise Appel
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Organizational Problem

I am an educator and student advisor at Yampah Mountain High School (YMHS), an

alternative high school on the Western Slope of Colorado. YMHS is a Board of Cooperative

Educational System (BOCES) school, specifically with Colorado River BOCES. Colorado River

BOCES has four-member districts, including Roaring Fork School District, Garfield County

School District Re2, Garfield 16 School District, and De Beque School District 49-JT. Students

from Aspen School District have also been served by Yampah Mountain High School however,

Aspen School District is not an official member of Colorado River BOCES.

Students come to Yampah Mountain High School for any number of reasons but, the

bottom line is, traditional public high school wasn’t working for them. Today, as an educational

system, we want to prepare students so that they have the skills necessary to join the 21st-century

workforce post-graduation. Unfortunately, due to a variety of factors, students who attend

YMHS have few options for vocational and technical courses. This is a problem because many

YMHS students will not attend a four college. Rather, they will join the country's workforce post

graduation. Providing opportunities for Yampah Mountain High School students to gain skills in

their potential trade would better prepare these young adults to join the 21st-century workforce

and create a sustainable society for everyone.

Structural Frame Problem

When YMHS first started as an alternative high school program in 1998 there were very

few students. Today, there are approximately 150 students enrolled in YMHS’ alternative high

school program. When YMHS first started as an alternative campus, students attended school in
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the basement of a local church. Since its inception , YMHS has had the opportunity to build a

new building, which was several years ago. At the time YMHS was planning and building a new

facility, I believe they thought they were building a stucture that would be big enough to support

future student populations. However, over time the population has grown so much YMHS is

outgrowing its current building. Since the building is already struggling to support the space

required to house the highly engaging courses currently offered, it does not have space to also

offer a variety of entry-level, career readiness training courses or vocational and technical

programs. Not only does YMHS not have the space to start new programs, financial resources

for such programs are limited.

Yampah Mountain High School has its own small fleet of buses and vans that are used

for transporting students to and from school. Most of the teachers are credentialed to drive the 14

passenger busses. The buses are for class trips, outings such as Interim (a week long experiential

educational trip of some kind), and going to the local recreational center or outdoor locations for

physical education courses. However, YMHS does not have the resources to transport students as

if the school had its own taxi service. This limits the opportunities students have to participate in

vocational and technical programs currently offered by other institutions. There is a public

transportation system, Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (RFTA) within the YMHS service

area but the schedule is limited and inconvenient for student schedule needs. In addition, RFTA

doesn’t serve the entire service area of Colorado River BOCES’ member districts. The areas not

being served are the communities that could benefit the greatest. In addition to limited schedules

and locations served, the public transportation system is quite expensive, especially for

non-working high school students. These factors limit many students’ ability to participate in
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vocational and technical courses that are available through other organizations or schools in the

area, such as a welding programs that is offered through Colorado Mountain College, a Culinary

program that is offered through Youth Entity and Woodworking or Computer Programming

programs offered at other local traditional high schools.

Structural Frame Solution

When thinking of a solution for space, there are two options: one is to build a larger

school the other is to build relationships and collaborate. Building a new school or even adding

on to the already existing school, would costs a lot of money that YMHS does not have. YMHS

has and could continue to find and apply for grant opportunities which could lead to a funding

stream. This funding stream could allow the school to build additional space for additional

programs. Another way in which YMHS could combat it’s space dilemma is to collaborate with

existing organizations and or companies that offer job training opportunities. For example; rather

than creating its own auto mechanics program, YMHS could team up with a local mechanic that

might be interested in offering an apprenticeship program. This would provide a learning

opportunity, in a specific trade, for students and get students participating at a different location,

freeing up space rather than occupying more space at the already bursting school.

Collaborating with the local public transportation system, Roaring Fork Transportation

Authority (RFTA), could provide students a form of transportation that is convenient and

affordable. This collaboration, in my opinion, would have to be greater than just a relationship

between YMHS and RFTA. I believe in order for it to be sustainable, for RFTA, the

collaboration would have to be with all school districts within the RFTA service boundaries. If
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local school districts collected an additional registration fee, that was then passed onto RFTA, it

would offset some of the expenses RFTAs may incur due to the collaboration efforts. However,

this collaboration effort would not replace the school districts already existing transportation

department, it would only be an additional resource for the students within the area.

Human Resource Frame Problem

Unlike most traditional public high schools, Yampah Mountain High School believes in

William Glasser’s Choice Theory philosophy. Building relationships is a key component of the

Choice Theory philosophy. YMHS believes building relationships is a priority because

successful teaching is based on strong relationships. Without a strong relationship between

student and teacher/advisor, less learning will actually take place (Glasser, 1998). Yampah

Mountain High School not only believes in building strong relationships within the school but it

also believes and thrives on building relationships with outside organizations. It takes a lot of

time and energy for people to build relationships with those outside organizations. Especially

when it’s not that employees primary duty.

YMHS has graduation requirements similar to any other public high school (see

appendix). In order for students to earn the credits required for graduation, YMHS must provide

the staffing it takes to teach the core content subjects; English, Math, Social Studies, and

Science. However, students are also required to take Arts, Humanities, and other Elective

courses. Currently, those types of courses offered at YHMS are primarily art classes, outdoor

recreation classes, and health and wellness courses. There are very few options for specific

vocational and techinical courses. Often times those courses and curriculums are much more
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expensive due to the resources needed to teach them. Yampah Mountain High School would

have to change its mission in order to reallocate funds for non-required vocational and technical

programs if they were going to be offered.

One thing that makes Yampah Mountain High School very different from other public

high schools is that teachers/advisors co-create, with students, a Personalized Learning Plan

(PLP). Even though students are still required to have 24 credits for graduation, the way that

each student gets to their 24 credits is completely unique. Having the resources for non-required

programs, such as technical and vocational programs, are not available nor do they seem to be a

priority.

Human Resource Frame Solution

Adding a new position that is part of the administrative department of Yampah Mountain

High School, could be a solution for building relationships with outside organizations. Currently

there is not a vice principal at Yampah Mountain High School. If this position was added it

would allow the current principal more time to go out and collaborate with already existing

organizations. Putting the vice principal in charge of everyday job duties such as discipline and

attendance issues. Finding the financial resources to create such a position would require

modifications in the current budget. The school would need to look into reallocating funds from

one area to another. The vice principal could be tasked with writing additional grants to help

fund positions but I’ve been told it is very important to only budget monies that are a guaranteed

revenue source. This would also take the pressure off of the teaching staff, to build relationships

with outside organizations. Those relationships could be secured by the schools principal.
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Symbolic Frame Problem

According to Choice Theory, in practice, love and belonging is the most important need

individuals have (Glasser, 1998). One way YMHS create a sense of love and belong, is by

carrying on a lot of traditions. For example, there is an annual Thanksgiving meal. Each advisory

goes to the advisor's house, or a respective kitchen, to prepare that advisory’s portion of the

Thanksgiving meal. The school then comes back together as a community to enjoy the meal,

each other, and celebrate the talent the school has to offer. There is also an annual gift exchange

before the December break. Each advisor offers a craft. Students can make a gift for the

individual they drew randomly that morning. Another tradition is the annual Valentines’ meal

that is catered with the intention of being on the formal side of things. The large room, a

community room, is decorated and once again the student body, staff, and outside community

members come to celebrate each other and those we care about. Other traditions; every

Wednesday we meet in the large room as a community to discuss topics and issues that are

current, approximately once a month YMHS has “Friday Outings” or an activity where they

don't have classes and all students participate in an all-school event. They also have Interim.

Interim is where students and teachers take a week in the middle of each trimester for an

experiential learning trip. Some of those experiences are local opportunities and others are

further away. These opportunities could be anything from local art and studio tours or local ski

and snowboard trips to bigger adventures such as a Cultural experience in New Orleans, or a

Service Learning and Cultural trip to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota or

Puerto Rico. Yampah Mountain High School believes it is important to carry out those traditions
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every year because those traditions help to build and foster the strong relationships that they

believe are essential in the educational process.

Another way YMHS creates a sense of love and belonging is through building strong

relationships. They believe that successful teaching is based on strong relationships. It's not only

important for them to build relationships with their students, but it is also extremely important

for them to build relationships among teachers, administrators, bus drivers, and all other staff.

Yampah Mountain High School does not take a one-size-fits-all approach to student

learning. Every student that enrolls in Yampah Mountain High school is on a personalized

learning plan (PLP). These plans also help to foster and build relationships with our students.

Having a student PLP meeting gives advisors insight into student's passions and interests. It

allows them the opportunity to help students find a path that takes them and prepares them for

the 21st-century world we live in. The only reason this is an issue is because the students who

attend Yampah Mountain High School find such a sense of Love and Belonging they do not want

to go to their home school to participate in the vocational and or technical programs offered.

Symbolic Frame Solution

From my perspective the only thing that needs a solution is the fact that not all students

find love and belonging at all public high schools. Creating traditions and following through with

them helps to create stability. Building relationships with students builds trust and creates a safe

environment for students to step out of their safe circle and grow. Creating a situation where all

students have Personalized Learning Plans, not just students with Special Education services.
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Building that home away from home allows students to fully experience new things allowing

growth to happen.

Political Frame Problem

In 1998 the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act (referred to as

“Perkins III”) was signed into law. When Perkins III was signed into law, many modifications

were made to the vocational and technical education programs. One major change that was to be

implemented, was the push to no longer have separate vocational and technical programs.

Rather, those programs would be absorbed by the local secondary schools (NAVE, 2004). To

paint the picture, rather than students going to separate vocational school programs such as;

wood shop, computer technologies, and agriculture programs, those programs would now be

offered only by the local high school, if and only if, those programs fit into the budget and

priorities for that school’s administration.

Yampah Mountain High school has a student population of 150 students (SIS, 2019).

With a student population of 150, it is difficult to find the funds and resources to offer such

programs as wood shop or agricultural programs for the handful of students that would be

interested in those industries. Students enrolled in YMHS are allowed to participate in programs

that are offered at their Home School, the school in which they transferred from, if the program

the student is interested in is not offered at Yampah Mountain High School. For example, if a

student coming from Rifle High School wants to enroll in the welding program offered at Rifle

High School, they are allowed to do so. However, it is unlikely those students who transferred to

YMHS would take classes from the school they transferred from. They left their Home School
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because, for whatever reason, their home school was not serving their needs. This could lead to a

difficult and uncomfortable situation for the student, parents, teachers, and administrators.

YMHS is a small school with limited resources, therefore it has to build relationships

with outside organizations and business as an alternative option for vocational and technical

training. However, from my experience, this is not always an easy task. There are so many little

details that interfere with solidifying those relationships. One obstacle that comes up often is the

age requirements companies have. Many companies will not work with or hire individuals under

the age of 18. This is due to insurance and workman's compensation. Companies are not willing

to take on the liability of minors. This really limits YMHS’ ability to build opportunities for

students to participate in vocational and technical training through local companies. Building

opportunities with organizations such as Youth Entity or Colorado Mountain College present

their own obstacles for the student population of Yampah Mountain High School. Such as

transportation, location, and rigor or pace of the programs.

Political Frame Solution

The solution to the political frame problem is educational reform. This is so much bigger

than what any one school can take on. This is bigger than any one school district or any state

department of education. This reform would have to come down from the US government,

changing policies and laws regarding the educational process within the United States. The

Perkins III act would need to be reversed, taking vocational and technical programs out to the

public high schools and re-creating separate vocational and technical school that offer a variety

of programs. This would allow all students from any public school with in that district to

participate in a variety of programs. If this was a easy solution, it would have been done already.
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It’s as if the educators and individuals on the ground, performing the work, know what needs to

be done to better serve our students. But, politics and money have control over the future of

America's educational system.

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Work Cited

Glasser, W. (1998) Choice Theory. William Glasser Institute. Retrieved from:

https://wglasser.com/our-approach/choice-theory/

NAVE. U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Under Secretary, Policy and
Program Studies Service. (2004). National Assessment of Vocational Education:
Final Report to Congress, Washington, D.C. Retrieved from:
https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/sectech/nave/navefinal.pdf

Student Information System. 2019. Self pulled report.

The four Frame Model. 2019. Retrieved from

http://www.free-management-ebooks.com/news/four-frame-model/

U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Under Secretary, Policy and Program

Studies Service. (2004). National Assessment of Vocational Education: Final

Report to Congress, Washington, D.C. Retrieved from:

https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/sectech/nave/navefinal.pdf

U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. (1995) Vocational

Education in the United States: The early 1990s. NCES 95-024. Washington, D.C.:

1995. Retrieved from: https://nces.ed.gov/pubs95/95024.pdf

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Appendix 1

YMHS Graduation Requirements

Demonstration of CO Academic Standards and 24 Carnegie Credits required

1 credit= 120 hours credits toward learning the CO Academic Standards

■ Reading, Writing & Communicating (English) 4.0
■ Social Sciences (Civics .25 & Service Learning .25 required) 3.0
■ World Languages & Culture 1.0
■ Mathematics & Personal Finance 3.0
■ Science & Technology 3.0 (Digital Citizenship required)
■ Health, PE/ODE 1.0 (Health Class required)
■ Art, Humanities & Electives 9.0

Once graduation credit requirements are complete, to earn the Yampah diploma, students must
present to their Graduation Committee or at a Community Graduation Presentation, a Capstone
& Post-High School Success e-Portfolio aligned to the​ ​CO Department Education Essential
Skills​ (Quests)