Preparing At-Risk Eighth Graders for Success

A student’s chances of graduating from high school are reliant on a variety of external factors. This is evident by the gaps in graduation rates by state which vary from 69 percent to 92 percent. Factors that impact graduation rates include class size, funding, socio-economic status, and the transition to high school.

Studies have shown that a critical aspect to a student’s success in high school is determined in their freshman year. Falling behind during your first year in high school creates a snowball effect that is difficult to reverse.

At Duneland Schools we recognized the importance of setting our incoming ninth graders up for success; however, in past years our graduation rates ranged from 92-95 percent. We had become complacent and knew it was time for a new approach. As a team, we set a goal to increase our graduation rate to 98 percent.

Transitioning from middle school to high school

To better prepare our at-risk eighth grade students we created a program called Bridges. Students were identified and invited to participate in a 15-day summer school program where they became familiar with the high school, the administrators, and a group of teachers.

Students worked directly with four high school teachers to develop the following skills:

• Study skills
• Organizational skills
• Conflict resolution
• Self-care

In addition, high school English & social studies staff members gave presentations on plagiarism and how to effectively use the Internet for research. At the beginning of the school year these same four teachers had a study hall every other day where they worked with students in the Bridges program. This allowed the students to have an advocate from the summer checking up on grades and assignments and helping them navigate their freshman year.

Recognizing a need for more

Our team found that over the years our data wasn’t showing enough positive growth with our Bridges students throughout their 4-year experience at the high school. A decision was made to revamp our at-risk incoming ninth grade program. A lack of credits and lack of support throughout the year was hindering students from starting off their high school career on a positive note.

This led to the creation of a new initiative for incoming freshman called TEAM. This skills-based program allowed students to earn credits over the summer before

beginning their freshman year. The team was comprised of two English teachers, two math teachers, a P.E. teacher, a Special Education teacher, and a teacher leader. Students rotated through the teachers and received lessons in math, English, & P.E. With this they were able to earn the following 4 high school credits:

• Physical Education
• Basic Skills
• Math Elective Lab
• English Elective Lab

In addition to these four credits, our teacher leader would start each day with a social emotional learning (SEL) lesson along with a chance to sit and talk with the students over a small school-provided breakfast. To increase student participation in school culture, the administrative team gave brief presentations on clubs, graduation pathways, future possibilities of career and technical education, and other parts of their future high school experience.

The impact of intentionally scheduling students

At the beginning of the school year, students in this program were scheduled strategically. On a block eight schedule, the students spent the first two classes of each day in their TEAM cohort and attended Algebra 1, Algebra Lab, English 9, & Biology as a group. They also had a study hall with TEAM students and the teachers that participated in the program.

Looking forward

Throughout the year, there are freshman TEAM grade checks and celebrations to recognize student accomplishments. The freshman TEAM teachers are also given time to collaborate and communicate about the methods that proved successful and strategies that helped students overcome academic and social barriers.

Dan Caudle is an assistant principal at Chesterton High School in Chesterton, Indiana. For more information about the TEAM program, you can contact Dan at dcaudle@duneland.k12.in.us