Program helping Carthage ninth-graders
CARTHAGE — A program designed to change the way ninth-graders start their high school careers has shown significant increases in student achievement in only the first year.
The ninth-grade academy at Carthage High School was designed to provide students with an easier transition into high school with almost all of their courses in the same hall and a team of teachers working together on curriculum and activities.
From eighth to ninth grade, the class of 2012 showed a 30 percent increase in grades, said high school Principal Beth A. Abbass, which she attributes to the ninth-grade academy.
"We're all working together to catch any issues with the students earlier," said Terese S. Bartlett, an earth science teacher in the academy. "We were really able to get them the help they needed very quickly."
Many national studies show that most students who decide to drop out of high school make that decision in ninth grade. Ms. Abbass said she hopes making the transition to the school easier will translate to a higher graduation rate.
Margeaux L. Davis used to be a middle school teacher and is now an English teacher in the academy. She said she's seen the anxiety that changing from the middle to high school causes many students, and she thinks the ninth-grade academy greatly helps that transition.
"They are able to feel comfortable here," Mrs. Davis said. "They knew where their classrooms were and knew where their friends were."
Each of the students' four "core" classes — English, math, science and social studies — were in the ninth-grade academy wing of the school. Ms. Abbass said while this helps the students feel separate from the rest of the school, they still venture to the other areas of the building for art, music, language or other "special" classes, which makes them less nervous to start 10th grade.
She said the goals of the academy were to have high attendance rates, which have increased to 96 percent, lower failure rates and increase the number of students on the honor roll.
She said of the 260 freshmen, only 90 were failing one or more classes in the first quarter and fewer than 15 students were absent 10 or more times, which is an improvement from last year.
She said teachers in the academy have common planning times, which allows for more collaboration on lesson plans and activities.
"The sense of community here goes beyond the students. It goes from teacher to teacher and to the families," said math teacher Kim M. Baker.
All freshmen students were required to stay after school for the first five weeks for extra help in courses and homework. After that, only students who had a 75 percent or lower in any class were required to stay. Ms. Abbass said this extra time helped many students pass classes they otherwise might not have.
"Those kids who stayed after were much less likely to slip through the cracks," said Colleen B. Davis, math teacher. "There was no way they were going to slip through the cracks with all of us watching and helping them."
At the beginning of the academy, the teachers also encouraged the students to do community service projects. Most notably, the students planted a crimson king maple tree in conjunction with Earth Day and Arbor Day.
