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Freshmen focus of support program
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| By: Mark J. Crawford, Editor |
November 13, 2009 |
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Principal Doug Thoburn wants to give incoming freshmen a foundation for success at Bradford High School.
"Studies show that the majority of students who end up dropping out of high school do so because they fall behind in their ninth-grade year," Thoburn recently told the school board.
The school faces the loss of a lot of students if it doesn't find a better way of supporting ninth-graders, he said.
Thoburn also noted that studies indicate freshmen disproportionately make up a large percentage the overall high school student populations because of those who fail to be promoted. He said a small percentage of those who repeat grade nine make it to graduation.
"My guess is we're probably pretty similar to the research," Thoburn said.
One phenomenon he's noted are the former A and B students from the middle school who move on to the ninth grade and begin to struggle academically. That's because the total amount of formal support given usually consists of handing them a class schedule and a map on their first day, he said. Teachers and guidance counselors help, but there is not a formal support system for incoming freshmen.
To that end, he has proposed the Freshman Year Foundation Program, modeled after similar programs around the country.
The foundation sets up a core curriculum that includes a yearlong freshman leadership course. It will stress study skills, but is also an excellent place to insert character education and other leadership lessons.
According to Thoburn, the course would include instruction in goal setting and decision making; academic study skills and note taking; test taking skills; self assessment; personal finance education; career planning and exploration; interpersonal skills and communication techniques; technology in education; problem solving skills and conflict resolution; time and stress management; team building; group dynamics; exploration of higher education opportunities.
All freshmen will also take English I and Integrated Science. The mathematics selection, with course selection based on what math the student took at the middle school level. The options will be Algebra I or geometry, or honors versions of those classes.
Honors English or science will not be offered to freshmen to limit the overall number of honors courses.
Currently all incoming students are funneled into a world history course, but Thoburn sees an opportunity to enhance reading skills for those who are struggling. The prior year's FCAT results would be used to determine reading level, and those with a score of 310 or below would be placed in a yearlong reading course designed to build skills and promote academic success.
There would actually be two reading courses, one for those who require intensive assistance with reading. Per state statute, eighth-graders who score level one or two on FCAT reading and are determined disfluent must be scheduled for a daily extended reading intervention. This 90-minute reading block will be known as Intensive Language Arts and will be scheduled for those students in a block with English I.
Freshmen scoring 311 or higher on reading in the eight grade will generally be scheduled for world history.
Those scheduled for reading who cannot take world history in the ninth grade will be able to take the course as sophomores.
The sixth and final slot in a freshman's class schedule would typically be reserved for a semester of physical education and a semester of health, but there is flexibility here for band, chorus or vocational students. Electives in those three areas could be substituted for the physical education option so long as parents agree physical education will be completed in the 10th grade or in an alternative setting (marching band, interscholastic sports, ROTC).
Alternatively, vocational, band or chorus students could substitute one of those courses for social studies and take that course at a later time.
There won't be any additional staff needed to implement the Freshman Foundation program, but Thoburn would assign one of the existing guidance counselors to the freshman class. That individual would oversee all counseling interactions and be a key leader in the activities of the foundation.
Similarly, one teacher from each academic discipline would be dedicated to the freshman class and be the Freshman Foundation leader in that subject area, relying on other teachers in the department, of course, to help cover some of the freshmen classes.
Thoburn said Freshman Foundation along with criteria for enrolling students in honors classes (see related story) are two ways in which the school can "Aim for an A," the motivational slogan the district is using to encourage schools to aim for excellence.
Some additional details are being worked on before the proposal is brought back to the board for formal approval.
In other business:
* The school board's second meeting for the month of November has been canceled due to the Thanksgiving holiday, but it will hold its reorganizational meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 7:30 a.m. There will then be a short workshop on board policy, to be followed by a public hearing at 8 a.m. at which proposed policy changes will be adopted.
* Assistant Superintendent Lisa Prevatt notified the board of code of conduct changes that will need to be implemented in the future, including the clarification that zero tolerance vandalism is vandalism in which damages meet or exceed $1,000. This change will mirror state statute.
Principals have also expressed an interest in differentiating between skipping class and leaving school, with appropriate punishments assigned to each. Skipping punishments would involve parent notification and in-school suspension and include a program that teaches kids why it's important to try and succeed in school.
Leaving campus is seen as an unsafe act that places students at risk that requires a more serious response.
These proposed changes will likely come to the board for approval in January.
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©Bradford County Telegraph 2010
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