Ottawa High Freshman Academy continues to make the grade
04/19/2011, 12:07 am
A look at the numbers for Ottawa Township High School's Freshman Academy continues to show student improvement. Craig Mueller, coordinator for freshman academy, presented a report to the OTHS board Monday night, showing data for the second year of the program as compared with previous years. Last year, the number of students receiving Fs decreased, and that trend has continued for 2010-2011 so far. The number of students getting higher grades, including As and Bs, also increased. Freshman academy places all freshmen together for the core classes of English, math, science and history and locates them in the same area of the building. Co-teaching is encouraged, and that collaboration has proven successful. At the end of the the first semester for 2010-2011, the percentage of students receiving an F dropped from 41 percent in the 2008-2009 school year to 19.4 percent. "It's a work in progress but it definitely feels like we're moving in the right direction," said Mueller. Mueller also broke down the number of failures by subject, with English seeing a decline in the number of Fs from 17 percent to 6 percent; history dropping from 11 percent to 4 percent, science dropping from 17 percent to 9 percent and math dropping from 20 percent to 9 percent. With teachers collaborating, the curriculum has been overhauled. The focus is now on preparing students for what they'll need to know going into sophomore year and beyond. OTHS will also begin analyzing student performance on standardized tests to track whether there is improvement in that area also. Assistant Principal Laura Pastirik was pleased with the numbers as well. "The success is 100 percent because of the work Craig and the teachers are doing," she said. "They are making connections with the kids. ... Great relationships are being built there." Mueller also applauded the success of a recent collaborative history project for all freshmen. Students came up with ways to fight world hunger. Combined, the freshmen class raised $12,000, donated 473 food items, volunteered 200 hours and made contact with 2,000 people through a Facebook page and public service announcements. "They saw an immediate impact. They saw the results of their work," he said. "It's one example of moving in the right direction." The complete report can be found at www.prezi.com under "OTHS Freshman Academy 2010-2011." |
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