Homework Club Helps Students Get Grades Up

By Leigh Landini Wright, The Paducah Sun, Ky.

Jan. 19– — Thirteen-year-old Tajh Milliken beams when she talks about improving her grades from Cs to As and Bs in a matter of weeks.

Tajh is among 98 students at Paducah Middle School who participate in the weekly Homework Club and school break enrichment sessions. Since last fall, Paducah Middle has set up various academic programs designed to improve students’ grades, behavior and ultimately their scores on the Commonwealth Accountabilty Testing System index.

Scores — combined from results of the Kentucky Core Content Test and the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills — ranked the school as "assistance level 1," allowing it to invite a highly skilled educator from the state Education Department to help. Former McCracken County teacher Kathy Evanko, contracted with the state Education Department, has observed classes, evaluated test results and talked with teachers about improving instruction.

The weekly Homework Club allows students to make up missed assignments, retake tests in hopes of earning better grades and receive extra assistance. Enrollment fluctuates depending on students’ needs. More than half of the school’s teachers volunteer to stay after school to help at various times, principal Tim Huddleston said. Three-day enrichment sessions during school breaks are an outgrowth of the Homework Club. Forty students have participated during fall and winter breaks, Huddleston said.

"I didn’t have low grades, but they helped me bring my grades up to a better average," said Tajh, a seventh-grader who attended the enrichment sessions.

Quinton Matchem, also a 13-year-old seventh-grader, brought his grades up from Cs to Bs and noticed improvement in his reading. He confessed to not enjoying reading until he received help through the Homework Club and enrichment sessions. He’s also building better study habits.

"It helps me because when it comes to bigger tests, I know how to take the practice tests and study," he said.

Nora Cox, a seventh-grade special education teacher, coordinates the Homework Club and enrichment sessions. "By holding sessions at Christmas and fall break, hopefully we will eliminate those students having to attend summer school," she said.

The school still runs its Extended School Services program twice a week for reading and math assistance. Those two subjects were concerns after the CATS scores were released. Reading dipped by nine points, and math by nearly 11 points. Writing increased by five points.

Students struggling with reading participate in Drop Everything and Read each Friday, Huddleston said. To improve their writing, students work in small groups with a teacher on revising and correcting their portfolios.

"The real test of our efforts is coming up soon," Huddleston said of practice tests prior to the CATS assessment in April.

Increased volunteer participation is allowing teachers and administrators to focus more on the classroom. Parents work the front hospitality desk, and volunteers manage lines in the cafeteria and help with class changes in the hallways. Huddleston said the participation of outside adults allows them to encourage the students. "When adults are present, students behave better," he said.

Parent Georgia Flarsheim designs bulletin boards and cheerfully completes tasks such as laminating for teachers. When students ask her why she is at the school so much, she smiles and responds, "I’m everybody’s mom every day."

Volunteers, once seemingly unwelcome, are now embraced and encouraged, Flarsheim said. Most volunteers have children enrolled, but some are retirees looking for a way to help. Flarsheim, the parent of a seventh-grader, recalled seeing students hug one volunteer, a minister, in the lunchroom as they stood in line.

The atmosphere and perception of the school seem to be evolving, thanks to the willingness of volunteers and the new academic programs. Huddleston said teachers seem happier and are willing to stay longer.

"I do think that the climate is better," Cox said. "There are so many positive things going on in the building."

The negative perceptions surrounded constant changes in administration several years ago. Huddleston was named principal in July 2005, replacing Sherry Weatherspoon who resigned for unspecified reasons after one year. She replaced George Radford, who was ressigned in 2004.

"All in all, everything is improving," Flarsheim said. "We are seeing the efforts starting to pay off. I do feel that we are making progress. It may not necessarily be at this moment in the CATS scores. It might be in the attitudes of students. … The demeanor and attitude of a lot of the students has softened. They feel like they are cared for here and that helps with the morale."

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Paducah Sun, Ky.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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