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A Saturday Success AcademyTo Reduce 9th Grade Retentions
By James MacGregor In July 2008 the School District of Osce-ola County was informed by the U.S. De- partment of Education that the I-StepGrant proposal for $1,200.000 had beenaccepted. It was to provide a three year support project for the purpose of improv-ing 9th grade success. Ultimately the longterm intent is to improve graduation rates.At the national level and at the local levelin Osceola county it has become increas-ingly evident that change was needed inorder to improve 9th grade success and thegraduation rate. Osceola County has arapidly increasing Hispanic student popu-lation. Some national research rates theHispanic graduation rate below 60%. Thegraduation rate in Osceola County is at67%.This project provides for five additionalcounselors to work with at-risk 8th and 9thgrade students. In this first year of thegrant the majority of the time will be spentwith 8th graders. During the second andthird year of the grant these counselorswill work with both 8th and 9th grade stu-dents.The goal of the grant is to improve 8th and9th grade retention rates by 25%. In order to achieve this goal systemic changes willneed to occur at both the middle schooland the high school level.This article will only describe one of theinitiatives that is intended to improve 9thgrade retention.A Saturday Success Academy was writteninto the grant because a similar programwas an important part of the Equity 2000 project that was sponsored by the CollegeBoard.The theory behind the Saturday Academyis that in many instances the students and parents do not understand the high schoolrequirements, the high school offering(both academic and extracurricular) andthe support systems that are in place. A parent or a significant adult was expectedto attend the first and the fourth SaturdayThe first three Saturdays would be held atthe zoned school with the final session being held at the local community college.There was no standardized program re-quired at each school but there were sev-eral expectations that were to be met atevery site. The following list summarizesactivities that were offered at all four sites.1. All students and parents reviewed theParent Internet Viewer to check cur-rent grades and assignments.2. All students and parents were given aschool tour led by current high schoolstudents.3. All sites were offered academic en-richment activities by current highschool teachers.4. All sites explained elective offeringsin detail and one site required studentsto rotate through every technical of-fering.5. All schools provided orientations toathletics, performing arts, and clubofferings.There were several very revealing quotesthat need to be shared.By an assistant principal“How can we do this for all 600 of our incoming 9th grades”By a longtime school observer.“These students well know more aboutschool opportunities than most 10th and11th graders.”By a parent whose other son will be a sen-ior, as she was taking the school tour said“I have had a son here at this school for two years and I have only seen the footballstadium and the Guidance Office” “Whatwonderful opportunities”One of the really surprising aspects aboutexperiencing the Saturday Academies wasthe change in attitudes by the different publicsFrom the school administrationDoubtful about continued participation for 4 weeks.That teachers would not want tp partici- pate on a Saturday morning.That the kids would not like it.The goal of this specific initiative is tocreate a positive and meaningful event for students and parents that would requirevery little funding in order for it to be rep-licated as an orientation event at each highschool. The big surprise that was encoun-tered involved teacher attitudes. Teachers,coaches, club sponsors etc. were willing to participate without any remuneration.Funding for staff salaries was availableduring this first year due to the availabil-ities of the grant dollars.Each of the four I-Step counselors had theresponsibility for recruiting at-risk stu-dents and parents for the initiative. Be-cause this was a brand new initiative therecruiting phase was often a one on onerecruitment with student and parent.
 
In order to provide greater insight into whatoccurred at these sites there is a brief writeup by each of the four counselors.Saturday Success Academy - Melissa Coo- per As an ISTEP counselor one of the most chal-lenging aspects of our position is workingcollaboratively with schools. We visit fivevery different schools one day weekly andthe limited amount of time spent with eachschool can negatively affect working to-gether. While creating and working on theSaturday Success Academy project withPoinciana High School, I found that collabo-ration and support came without question. Itis amazing what can be done when peoplework together toward a goal. Our goal in thisadventure was allowing incoming 9
th
gradeat risk students to get a hands on intimateview at what they will experience in highschool and begin making connections withteachers, staff, and other students.Day one was an informational session andcampus tour, day two academic focus, daythree involved vocational programs, and dayfour was a wrap up and focused on the futureat Valencia Community College. I was im- pressed by the willingness by everyone to participate in this event. The principal andassistant principal attended every session atPHS. Deans, athletics, ROTC, Cheerleading,Drama, Guidance Counselors were activelyinvolved in the process. I had 10 teachersvolunteer to participate and over 30 studentvolunteers give their time, energy, and en-couragement to these 26 students. Theschedules were full and informative, funactivities were planned, and the studentsenjoyed each day. I don’t think it could haverun more perfectly.Without question the relationships that weredeveloped these four Saturdays will helpthese students feel a connection to theschool, the staff, and to each other. I person-ally witnessed friendships being formed, passion for learning growing within, and a budding excitement about the experiencesthat await them at Poinciana High School. Iwas continually asked questions like, “Whencan we do this again?” or “How could wemake this program for everyone?” or “I wishthere was something like this when I was in9
th
grade”. This experience helped me realizethat unless our students feel connected to thehigh school and feel that they have purposeand a place there, little work gets done. Ilook forward to seeing what these studentswill accomplish next year. We planted seeds,and I cannot wait to see how big they grow.
Saturday Success Academy –Debbie In-grassiaMs. Camp, SCHS Teacher of the Year,and Physical Science teacher had a fun andacademic lessons in her science room. The8th graders were allowed to perform ascientific experiment with an advancedhand held computer measuring device.They could test the temperature of any twoobjects and had to record their data. Shealso discussed the importance of maintain-ing grades and how to pass the scienceclasses.Ms. Bell, an English teacher had a won-derful lesson that was academic andgeared toward personal/social for newhigh schoolers. They read along while asong was being played that was aboutfinding your path and acceptance of your-self. She also had poetry and discussedeach line and the students had to say whateach sentence meant line by line. She wasamazing in describing her experiences andfeelings from middle school throughouthigh school. The room was so silent aseach student listened to her personal story.The students also learned more about mak-ing "right choices" for yourself and to beaccepting of who you are regardless of  peer pressures.Ms. Peterson, Social Worker, did a won-derful and creative lesson on "what areyour dreams and goals?" The students be-gan to realize they have dreams but needto complete short term and middle tasks/goals to reach their dreams.Ms. Hart, District Counselor, had a super lesson with a time line that brought about bonding of these students from differentschools and backgrounds. It helped themto realize everyone including the adults inthe room have lived in different places andhad to adapt to change with positive andsome negatives along the way. Also, it wasamazing to see each student talk in front of each other and share their personal stories.Overall, these students have absorbedknowledge that will help them feel morecomfortable and less stressed with all their "new" high school experiences to come.Saturday Success Academy -Karen Lein-inger The Saturday Success Academy at LibertyHigh School was an incredibly rewardingexperience. 26 students were served, with20 students attending 3 or more sessions,and over half attending all four sessions. Iwas continually impressed by the enthusi-astic staff and student presentations eachweek, including but not limited to: theacademic enrichment activities facilitated by our 9
th
grade teachers, LHS Athletics,ROTC, Cheerleaders, Band, Chorus,Drama, Dance Team, Robotics Club, NHS, TV Production and many more. Itruly believe that these 8
th
graders are bet-ter equipped for high school success as aresult of the things they learned and therelationships they built in this program.They have made valuable connections toLHS that will inspire them to invest intheir future there. 100% of the studentsstated that they feel more prepared for high school as a result of the program, andthat they would recommend the programto other students. Several of them statedthat they realize now how important aca-demic success in their freshman year is.Overall, the Academies were a positiveexperience, and I learned a great dealabout leadership, delegating and effi-ciency. I can’t wait for next year—it’sgoing to get better and better!
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