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AT WEYMOUTH HIGH SCHOOL; Freshman Academy: Teachers, Students Say New Set-Up Works

Posted on: Monday, 9 January 2006, 21:00 CST

By Eunice Kim; EUNICE KIM

The Patriot Ledger

WEYMOUTH When Stephanie Landers transferred to Weymouth High School last month, everything was new - the building, the people, the classes. Getting lost in the crowd of about 2,000 students would be easy.

But that didn't happen. Stephanie, enrolled in one of two freshmen academies at the high school, has quickly made friends and already feels her teachers care about her and know her academic ability.

"It makes me feel like I'm learning more," she said.

Formed this year as a pilot program, the academies are small learning communities. Each is made up of about 70 to 85 students, randomly selected from the 550-freshmen class. Students in each academy travel together throughout the day to their four core classes and are served by a team of teachers: A math, science, English, history and special-education teacher.

The goal is to improve student performance by forging relationships between students and teachers.

"You can't fall through the cracks because you have a team of teachers on your side whose philosophy is 'you will succeed,'" said 10th-grade dean Loretta Patterson, who coordinates the academies.

Developing smaller learning communities at the high school has been a goal of Joseph Rull since he became superintendent of schools last year. School officials, with help from residents, began studying the possibility with the aid of a $50,000 federal grant. Everyone agreed it would be best to create academies at the freshman level, where students are often the most vulnerable, especially when coming to a new 2,000-student building.

Next year, school officials plan to implement academies for all ninth-graders.

"We're hearing more and more through research and our own experience this year that students connecting with teachers results in greater student success," Rull said.

Like other freshmen, academy students take core classes according to their achievement level - academic, college prep or honors. They also have electives outside the academies.

Many, though, end up spending much of their time at school with the same people. The result is freshmen who know each other and their teachers extremely well.

"It's like a little family," said Katie Christmas, a freshman academy English teacher.

Some students complain that they don't often see their friends outside their academy, but that they've made new friends within. They've also become close to their teachers.

"You create a bond with your teachers," said freshman Charlia Abercrombie. "They show they care."

Students say their teachers learn their strengths and weaknesses and keep close track of how they're doing. The special-education teachers also can follow their students throughout the day.

"It allows me to co-teach with my colleagues and bring into the classroom learning strategies and study skills," said special- education teacher Joanne Tressel. Academy teachers aim to give extra help and guidance to students who need it. Much of that help comes during a period called independent project time, or IPT, which is taken by academy students in place of study hall. Academy teachers cover the period.

"It's easy to go to your teachers because you're always near them," said academy freshman Andrew Hultin. Each term, students work on a project in IPT. This term, one academy is doing an interdisciplinary project that sent students to Peabody Essex Museum to see the China trade exhibits. Taking what they learned about history, the freshmen are writing about the renewed interest in Chinese artifacts, an English assignment.

"We want students to see how the subjects relate to each other," said Mary Lou Buell, a history teacher in one of the academies.

Developing interdisciplinary projects is possible because the teachers constantly collaborate. Each team of teachers meets regularly to plan and discuss teaching strategies.

They also talk about students who are having problems and look for ways to address them. Oftentimes, those problems go beyond academics to home life, relationships and emotional or physical issues.

"We learn so much about the students you wouldn't otherwise know," English teacher Christmas said.

The intimate relationships can mean more work for teachers, whether it is a phone call home or ongoing discussions with colleagues, but Christmas said it's worth it.

"It's a great feeling to reach kids that may not have otherwise been reached," she said. "This is why I got into teaching. I love kids."

The hard work hasn't gone unnoticed.

"The teachers have gone above and beyond the call of duty," said Theresa Coyle, whose daughter, Jillian, is in an academy. "The smaller environment can only benefit any child."

A survey of academy students this year showed that the majority felt they were doing better academically than they thought they would.

Eunice Kim may be reached at ekim@ledger.com.

Source: Patriot Ledger, The; Quincy, Mass.

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