Twilight credit recover program could face budget cut

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Justin Wan, Staff Writer

Second chances. That’s what the Twilight program offers students who have failed classes or lost credits because of absences. However, the future of funding for these credit recovery programs has become a subject of worry recently.

“We know that everything is not etched in time until the budget is 100% approved,” Cathy Requejo, a Twilight project specialist said.

It’s primarily for students who have failed a course and need to recover.

Melissa Contreras, one of the teachers for the Twilight program, said that counselors sign the student up, and she and math teacher Christopher Aguilar monitors progress. The funding cuts have also shrunk the support the students would’ve gotten.

“The budget cuts have removed one teacher from the previous two teachers monitoring the students each day. ” It helps to have two teachers with the number of kids in the program. Normally if they had over 10 students, two teachers could help out. If the number of students dropped, then they would only have 1 teacher, but due to the budget cuts, they’re only allowed 1 teacher at all times, the time frame is also reduced this year.

This year, the programs operate from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. Last year the program was able to run from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. So now kids have even less time to complete their work, which is concerning.

“So it’s time. It’s less time for them. So it makes it harder for you know for them to have that support,” Contreras said.

Some students can come in and only do a test, whereas in last years case they were able to stay and study and take the test, and complete the next units work.

Students work after school to earn credits in the district’s Twilight program. The program could face budget cuts this year

“I’m thinking what that means is they’re eliminating maybe an elective or some other class that they cannot take that could play a factor in the graduation requirements,” said Contreras.