| High
school uses
programs to ensure student success
By
LAURA HAGAN
lhagan@owentonnewsherald.com
As this year’s
graduates leave Owen County High School, some will go to college,
some into the armed forces and some will go right into the work
force. Whatever their future, their decision to finish high school
was an important one.
According to last year’s CATS tests results, OCHS ranked
highest in non-academic areas. Attendance rates were higher, as
were measurements of a “successful transition to adult life.”
Dropout rates and retention rates decreased considerably.
Last year, 116 seniors graduated from OCHS. This year, 120 received
diplomas.
Principal Tim Hitzfield said keeping students on the track to
graduate is “all about building relationships.” The
high school offers a number of support services and programs for
students. Hitzfield said the school’s credit recovery program
and summer school program have been successful. He also credits
a change in student attitudes for an increasing number of graduates.
“I think the culture’s changing in the school,”
he said. “Students are more concerned now about their progress
and academics. Before, they got frustrated.”
Hitzfield said it is important for students to know they have
people to support them and opportunities to be succesful. In addition
to the credit recovery and summer school programs, a mentoring
program also helps support students.
The mentoring program began in January of 2006. Assistant Principal
Shannon Treece worked with Guidance Counselor Melissa Carpenter,
Community Education Officer Kathy Resetar and Pat Gibson, from
the Youth Service Center on the program.
The program takes juniors who Treece said have exhibited qualities
of positive support and can be good role models. The juniors work
with eighth-graders at Bowling Middle School, and gives them support
and encouragement and tries to make the transition to high school
easier.
Twenty-five students volunteered for last year’s program.
The students were told to pick an area to focus on. They chose
alcohol and tobacco awareness. The program received an ASAP grant
to increase awareness on the issues, and in the past year, the
mentoring group has held a poster contest at Owen County Elementary
School and sponsored a performance by the Wulfe Bros. Some students
designed shirts for Project Graduation. A movie night will be
held Friday.
The program runs from January until the following May.
“We find that freshman year is the year we lose them,”
Treece said. “The transition to high school is really hard.”
She said some of the students who have taken part in the program
are helpful just during school. Other mentor-mentees have become
friends outside of school.
This year, there are 40 kids who want to be a part of the program.
There was so much interest, Treece said, she had to split the
students into two groups. The groups are separated by gender.
Shawna Coldiron, Judy Osborne, Billy O’Banion and Rusty
Williams work with the students. At the moment, Treece said students
are working on goal-setting. She said she plans to take them on
trips as she did with the other group. The group visited Toyota
and learned about working there, attendance and keeping their
grades up.
“Mentoring has been a big piece of (keeping students on
track),” Treece said.
She said there has only been one student who dropped out as a
freshman that was part of the mentoring program. It has also given
some students a better relationship. The juniors who began the
program are now seniors. The eighth-graders are now freshmen,
and are sad to see their mentors go. Treece said she hopes some
of the former mentees will now want to be mentors when they are
juniors
The school also has a “Why try?” motivational series
that allows students to have a hands-on discussion that works
to teach them how they handle the “roller coaster of life.”
Next year a new program will focus even more on freshmen and getting
them comfortable with high school.
“We feel like next year will be an awesome year for student
success at the freshman level,” Treece said.
A freshman center will be put in place that has six core teachers
that work only with freshmen. Freshmen will be the only students
in the school on a seven-period day and will get the opportunity
to take a different elective every six weeks.
“We hope that by giving them a sample (of electives), sophomore
year, they can decide what they want (to pursue),” Treece
said.
Freshmen will also be taking a high school transitions class.
The class will help incoming freshmen get organized, learn how
to study and prepare for tests, and will use the “Seven
Habits of Highly Effective Teens,” by Stephen Covey.
“It’s designed to motivate kids and make them successful
high school students,” Treece said.
Like Hitzfield, Treece said she thinks the important thing is
building positive relationships.
“The kids want to be a part of something,” she said.
“My philosphy is, math, English, science. . . it doesn’t
mean anything if you aren’t happy with yourself.”
Next year, Treece said a plan for another mentoring program is
in the works. Sophomores, juniors and seniors will have an opportunity
to work with students at OCES. The students will go to the elementary
school every day during lunch and serve as a “lunch buddy.”
They will eat lunch with a student in the third, fourth or fifth
grade and talk to them about different things, like how they’re
doing personally to questions about homework.
“We actually had to turn kids away,” Treece said.
“They’ll be giving up their own social time.”
There are currently 10 students who are willing to be part of
the elementary school mentoring program. All are female students,
four of whom went through the mentoring program at the high school
as freshmen.
More programs could be in the works for the future.
“You can never have enough support for kids,” Treece
said. “There’s always room to improve.”
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