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Northridge High School • 2901 Northridge Road • Tuscaloosa, Al• 35406
March 20, 2013 • Volume 10 • Issue 6
Freshmen Academy in effect next year Raiha Bajwa Managing Editor The school board has made plans to introduce a new program Freshmen Academy for incoming freshman next year. The program is meant to help freshman make an easy transition from middle school to high school. The idea of the program is to set aside a certain part of the school building just for freshman where most freshman classes will be in the same area. Isaac Espy, principal, said the change is one of the results of the instructional audit held in October. “This action was taken as part of a school restructuring effort,” he said. The program is designed to give freshman undivided attention from a group of teachers and administrators, aiding them in their success at high school. “We would start by scheduling most 9th grade classes as closely together as possible,” Espy said. “This helps teachers communicate more effectively about student progress.” “It will give them a physical part of the school they can call their own,” he said. “This may eliminate some of the distractions.” Espy said he plans to visit students in the eighth grade in the spring and discuss it with them. “Teachers have come up to me and asked to be a part of this program,” he said. “I am very optimistic and enthusiastic about the potential for significant student gains academically,” Espy said.
Kelly Brown, guidance counselor, said a smooth transition from middle school to high school sets the path for the rest of the students’ path through high school. “The freshman year of high school is most crucial,” she said. “Students who don’t do well their ninth grade year are more likely to dropout in later years.” Shane Ashcraft, English teacher, said he thinks the idea of giving ninth graders a better way to transition is a good idea. “I don’t think it’s babying them,” he said. “I think the transition is tough, and you go from a much more structured environment to high school, and you need some help on the way.” Ashcraft compared the program with how freshman are treated in college. “They do this in college too with freshman orientation, required freshman classes, and freshman housing on campus,” he said. “It’s to help you transition to the new setting; it’s needed.” Alex Smith, senior, said she does not see how the program might be helpful. “It just fosters learned helplessness,” she said. “If we keep delaying when kids have to be social and deal with others then there’s going to be a point where they can’t be a normal part of society.”
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Counselors meet with students to plan schedules Che’Quita Burrell Artist
F reshman Academy? Would you like a
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163 students polled compiled by: Jakailah Cooper
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A new advising process was implemented in March to help students register for classes. Each student will have a 15 minute advising session with one of the counselors to discuss scheduling options. Jackie Hudgins said the counselors are reviewing each student’s grades, test scores and career interests to help them choose what classes to take. Elizabeth Tiley began advising students for next year on March 8. “I think it’s going pretty well,” Tiley said. “I’ve been able to get to know students better and be more intentional as far as recommending classes.” Each student will plan out all the classes they will take in high school, but this plan can be changed later if needed. Junior BoPing Kang said she preferred the old advising process where teachers signed off on your classes. “I like the old way because I could talk to my parents about it,” Kang said. “It’s my schedule, not the counselor’s.”
Teachers assist seniors in meeting online requirements Alex Hauser Editor-in-Chief
“They pushed BTA in ninth grade, and it ended up hurting us in the long run,” he said. “I wish we were informed eniors who took BTA their freshman year were earlier, so I could have taken it during sophomore or junior informed on Feb. 11 that they must complete year.” When the school was first informed about the missing 20 hours of online experience to graduate. credit, HOSA did not count as that online experience. In 2008, the Alabama Department of EducaHOSA students like Abby Hayes, senior, who had class at tion notified all of the school disTCT during advisory, planned to tricts in Alabama that students who take their class during their lunch wished to receive the Alabama High period. School Diploma with Advanced AcSally Latham, HOSA teacher, ademic Endorsement had to comI’m just wasting my time completing said when she became aware that plete an “online experience.” her students had to take another a packet that’s not for a grade when “Each high school principal and class, she looked into the requirecounselor was informed of the reI could be working on another class. ments to try to help them. quirement at that time,” Jenks, Coor“I read the experience requiredinator of Instructional Technology, ments. I felt we were meeting DeAnothony Mays, senior said. “Students must have the online them through the Edmodo asexperience. [They] could have the signments I’d have them doing necessary online experience in any from the beginning of school,” she said. course meeting the requirements.” Hayes said she was grateful for Latham. DeAnthony Mays, senior, said it was unfair to give se“I’m really happy she took the time to get it approved. niors more requirements to fill during the second half of We really do spend a lot of class time online, so I think their senior year.
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it’s fair. Latham had Jenks review her assignments and assess whether they met the online experience criteria. “He determined we met the criteria enough to award them the online exemption,” she said. HOSA student Elise Tucker, senior, said she was glad Latham requested HOSA to count. “We have online work every week. There’s a whole week set aside of it,” she said. “It’s one less thing that we have to do now. We wouldn’t have had time with it because we work through advisory so we can finish our clinicals in time.” Mays said he thinks they should have planned for students to take it before their last semester in high school. “If they knew before that I had to complete it, I could have taken it the three years before,” he said. “I’m just wasting my time completing a packet that’s not for a grade when I could be working on another class. It just doesn’t seem right.” Jenks said that after reviewing Ria Evans’ AP physics course, students taking it will fulfill their online experience.
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