A Fairmont High School (NC) experience …

Can achieve a high school diploma and our belief starts before they walk into our doors

1. Bridging the Gap 2. Summer Evaluation 3. Transition Academy 4. Freshmen Academy (HSTW model) ↓ 10 th grade promotion

Connecting Middle School to High School 1. Middle school principal’s phone # 2. Exceptional Children’s department  E.C. department chair meets with middle school E.C. teachers  Identify  Correctly place (discuss individual cases)  Folders completed

3. Core subject teachers interaction (meeting)  Explain hurdles for all subjects from both sides  Get teachers to identify glaring weaknesses  Create plan to benefit high school & middle school  (Ex: 7 th – 8 th grade E.O.G. = Reading Comp. → 9 th grade E.O.C. = Grammar & Reading Comp. → 10 th Writing Test )

4. 8 th Grade Assembly  Feeder schools are invited to the campus during school to see the operation and to receive information about the high school  25 min sessions (4 total) 1.Intro to 9 th grade Academy team + current 9 th grader reflection + 12 th grader reflection 2.Discipline issues + expectations 3.English + Math emphasis (activities) 4.CTE Information + World History/Earth Science emphasis

5. “Future 4 Kids” – Course Planner  Program for students and parents to technically interact with the guidance department in registering classes for high school  Students along with their parents usually attend a session on middle school grounds in April/May to set up their registration  All students’ registration should be completed by the end of May (for evaluation by high school)

 June/July  Examine “End Of Grade” scores for rising 9 th graders ▪ Evaluate who passed 1 st time prior to re-testing ▪ Establish Honors & Non-Honors (creates class size for scheduling) ▪ Identify at-risk students for Academy teachers  Participants: Principal, Guidance Department, Assistant Principal, and 9 th Grade Academy Coordinator

 3 day mini-school session for rising 9 th graders to interact with the FHS staff and learn “what” the Tornado Academy is all about!!!  Day 1 – Teachers plan and prepare all activities for the rest of the week  Day 2-4 – Students participate in different sessions full of activities

 Types of Activities:  Leadership  Team-building  Subject-oriented  Introduction to school  Technology  Physical  Transportation provided  Lunch is available for free  Student incentives for attending  No CHARGE!!!

 Building Layout – Blueprint is necessary!!!  “School within a school”  Administration, support staff, and teachers should be clustered together in the school  Easier to monitor and participate in grade-level activities  Tornado Expectations  Exactly what “we expect” of these 9 th graders from the minute they enter our halls  These expectations can be in addition to the high school handbook (more rules, more procedures, etc.)

 Weekly Academy Team meetings  Common planning  Agenda ▪ Academic Performance ▪ Discipline Issues ▪ Procedures ▪ Absenteeism ▪ Parental Contact ▪ Professional Development ▪ Specific strategies: Word Walls, Foldables, Gallery Walk ▪ Self-reflection (Improvements in class management + strategies) ▪ Achievement mindsets ▪ Grading System – “Inc” or “Not Yet” ▪ A.L.C. (Alternative Learning Center)

 Lunch  All 9 th graders as one group (most 9 th graders are not prepared for a high school lunch room) ▪ If at a large school, do the best you can in having the 9 th graders together even though you might not be able to make it one group  If upperclassmen are assigned to the 9 th Grade lunch, separate them in the lunch area  9 th Grade staff are required to eat in the lunch area to help monitor the students

 9 th Grade Student Support Team  9 th Grade Counselor ▪ Scheduling + credit check (extremely important) ▪ Emotional/family issues ▪ Conducts SSMT (Student Services Management Team) & 504 plan meetings  9 th Grade Social Worker ▪ Absenteeism ▪ Emotional/family issues (house visits)

 9 th Grade Drop-out Prevention Coordinator ▪ Actually works with 10 th grade as well (target group) ▪ Parental contact ▪ Multiple activity & program planner (Anti-Bullying week, 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, etc.)  9 th Grade Parent Liaison ▪ Parental contact ▪ Parental involvement activities ▪ Community relations

 9 th grade Academy Coordinator ▪ Conducts weekly meetings ▪ Plans student success celebrations ▪ Interacts with students ▪ Assists Administration ▪ Conducts & attends Professional Development workshops ▪ Attends Central Office meetings

 Tutoring  All teachers in the academy must be available for tutoring at least once a week  Schedule tutoring so subjects do not overlap with each other (try not to allow the student to have to make a choice)  Parental contact for targeted students  1 – 1 ½ hours  Transportation is available

 Academic success, limited tardies & absences

 Top Tornadoes  Bi-weekly selection of students in the Academy for success in classroom or athletics  Chosen by the teachers at our weekly meetings  Display in the Academy showcases the chosen student

 Academic success: Day trips, honor roll recognition, and student incentives

 Some states claim that 70 to 80 percent of 9 th graders who fail will not graduate  Students who did not earn promotion to 10 th grade have a 1 in 4 chance to earn a diploma within 8 years (Neild & Balfanz, 2006)  “On-track” students are 3.5 times more likely to graduate from high school in four years than students who are “off-track” (Allensworth & Easton, 2005)

 Graduation DOES begin when middle school ends  Getting students to achieve academically from 9 th grade to 10 th grade and be promoted is essential in raising graduation rates  To achieve this academic success in 9 th Grade, at-risk students must be identified  Our success with at-risk students comes through the methods presented today