By DALE JONES

Staff Writer

djones@gulfcoastnewspapers.com

Student Govern-ment Association members from Gulf Shores High School, accompanied by principal Dr. Ernie Rosado, Baldwin County Board of Education member Angie Swiger, and even the schools’ mascot “Splash”, were present at Tuesday’s Orange Beach council meeting to both get a feel for local politics as well as to inform elected officials about the opportunities for learning that abound at the local schools.

“We just want to give you an update of what is going on since school began in August,” Rosado told the council.

“Our leadership and support staff is still the same. We have three school counselors and I tell them every day not to move, retire or transfer because according to state codes based on the number of students we have, we are only allotted two, so if one leaves, I can’t replace them.”

Presently there are 775 students enrolled at Gulf Shores High School, slightly below the enrollment at the end of the 2009-2010 school year, with an average class size of 29 students.  Dr. Rosado said that he could not confirm if the slight drop in enrollment was directly related to the oil spill situation.

According to Dr. Rosado, Gulf Shores High School’s 95-percent graduation rate is the highest of any school in Mobile and Baldwin County.

“We received a donation from BP a couple of weeks ago in the amount of $4,400 to help our teachers with classroom instruction and supplies,” said Dr. Rosado.

Gulf Shores has added a new art teacher who came over from the middle school, a business technology program, and the pre-engineering program has been expanded.

“The pre-engineering class was offered only to juniors and seniors last year, but because of the interest of the students in the hands-on, math and science heavy instruction that will better prepare the students for college, we have opened it up to ninth graders and 10th graders.”

Dr. Rosado expressed his excitement about the collaboration that is also going on between the high school and the elementary schools.

“We don’t just want to be the high school. We want to share our resources with the elementary schools as well.”

Some of that interaction includes taking a recent pep rally to the elementary school rather than holding it at the high school gym, hosting regular Island Principals meetings to share ideas, having the high school coaches go to the elementary schools to teach P.E., and also allowing some of the Spanish II and French II students visit the classrooms of the younger students teaching them basic foreign language words and phrases.

“This gives the high school students some exposure to the elementary students and it makes them better students at the high school.”

Dr. Rosado also thanked both the cities of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach for all of their help and support from resource officers and EMS assistance to public works help.

Swiger said that one of the things that made an immediate impression on new Baldwin County School Superintendent Alan Lee was the cooperation from the local municipalities.

“The fact that we have our cities so involved in our schools physically, and the help and support that we receive from both of our city councils impressed him greatly,” Swiger said. “Thank you so much for everything you do for us.”

“Everything you guys give us and do for us is very much appreciated,” said Dr. Rosado. “It is an example of what I tell our students all the time.  We have to celebrate what we’ve got, not complain about we don’t have, and in order to receive we have to give.”