Portsmouth schools try to ease worries over Freshman Academy

Parents concerned about scheduling, loss of learning center and more

By Jim McGaw
Posted 5/16/18

PORTSMOUTH — A new program designed to ease the transition for incoming freshmen at Portsmouth High School once again faced questions from parents during an informational session last …

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Portsmouth schools try to ease worries over Freshman Academy

Parents concerned about scheduling, loss of learning center and more

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — A new program designed to ease the transition for incoming freshmen at Portsmouth High School once again faced questions from parents during an informational session last week.

More than 70 parents attended the meeting about Freshman Academy, which was led by PHS Principal Joseph Amaral and Assistant Principal Paige Kirwin-Clair in the Portsmouth Middle School library. A similar session was held last month at Hathaway School.

Freshman Academy, a model that Middletown High and other public schools have started, uses a team-teaching approach to help ninth-grade students get comfortable in their new learning environment so they can excel academically and socially.

“A community of support for students is essential for creating a baseline of success,” Mr. Amaral told parents. 

The principal said many freshmen entering a new school typically see their grades drop off during the transition period. In addition, they’re not always engaged academically and have problems with attendance, time management and organizational skills, he said. 

Freshman Academy is designed to deal with those issues head on, he said, by giving students a personal connection with a cohort of teachers offering extra support for pupils who are struggling academically, and developing strategies for improving time management, study skills and self-advocacy. (Ms. Kirwin-Clair said one of the main goals of Freshman Academy is to lower failure rates by 10 percent in the first year.)

“Not everyone feels comfortable in a new environment. We think this will help,” Mr. Amaral said. “We’re trying to eliminate a lot of the barriers in the freshman year so they can concentrate on learning. If they stumble and fall, we’ll help them get back up again.”

The program will also help freshmen recognize everything that’s available at PHS and encourage them to take part in extracurricular activities such as sports, music, theater and clubs, he said.

“Those are the kids who are generally connected to the school,” said Mr. Amaral, noting that participation in extracurricular events can bolster a student’s confidence. “I think it will drive academics as well as social/emotional learning.”

Even the smartest students often have issues with their social/emotional health, he pointed out. “We want to make sure those kids in freshman year get that support,” the principal said.

As to what it will look like, Ms. Kirwin-Clair said Freshman Academy will consist of two teams of five faculty members from the math, English, social studies, science and special education departments. Core classes will be in proximity to one another in a central location — the “A” wing, which is close to the main office, guidance department and school nurse.

“I think the biggest thing is the collaboration we’ll have with teachers, which we don’t currently have,” she said.

Freshman Academy will have its own full-time administrator who will be a “go-to person for parents as well,” said Ms. Kirwin-Clair, adding that “communication is key” to the program’s success.

Loss of learning center

One of parents’ biggest complaints about Freshman Academy is that students will lose a learning center. Many parents of incoming freshmen say the study period is important because it allows students extra time to complete homework assignments or to meet with teachers for extra help.

Mr. Amaral, however, said the loss of the learning center is not connected to Freshman Academy. 

“They’re really two different issues,” he said. “What we don’t have right now is the state minimum requirement for instructional minutes (for freshmen). The student has to have, in a five-day week, 1,650 minutes of learning time. We’re below that.” 

To meet that requirement, freshmen will take an extra elective in place of the study period. “Some of them don’t get the exposure to those (subjects) because of other requirements,” the principal said, adding that other top-rated districts such as Barrington and East Greenwich also don’t offer the study period.

One parent, Laurie Spaner, said the lack of a learning center for freshmen may pose problems for younger students who participate in sports after school — like her eighth-grade daughter, who plays softball. The extra in-school time would benefit her daughter, who plans on taking advanced courses as a freshman, Ms. Spaner said.

“Three-quarters of the team will have the time for other work and the freshmen won’t,” she said after the meeting. 

Pride block

To help make up for the loss of a learning center, Mr. Amaral said incoming freshmen can sign up for a “pride block” that will be made available to them on a first-come, first-saved basis. 

During a pride block, which meets once a week for 30 minutes (the district is considering a proposal to allow for two per week), students meet with the teacher of their choice for extra help in a particular subject. 

A few parents said they were concerned that with an extra elective, the more gifted students won’t be challenged enough academically. Mr. Amaral, however, said freshmen will not be excluded from the high school’s rigorous academic program, and that several honors classes are available. In addition, the teaching team can assist those students who want to push themselves, he said.

Caroline Dooley, who has had children in the Portsmouth schools for 16 years now, agreed that all students are challenged at PHS and that teachers make themselves available to help them whenever needed.

“I can’t say anything but wonderful things about the high school,” Ms. Dooley said. “(Students) can e-mail teachers and the teachers will reply to them. Those teachers give them 150 percent.”

In a response to another parent’s question, Mr. Amaral agreed that eighth-grade teachers at the middle school should meet with ninth-grade teachers to plan for next year’s transition.

“If we’re not connected perfectly, there are going to be gaps. There has to be coordination time,” he said.

Both Mr. Amaral and Ms. Kirwin-Clair said other high schools have found nothing but success with Freshman Academy. In fact, some schools have even instituted a “subset” of it in 10th grade because they want to duplicate results, Mr. Amaral said.

The principal said Portsmouth has no plans to do that, however. 

“I don’t want to start any rumors,” Mr. Amaral said with a laugh.

Portsmouth School Department, Portsmouth High School, Portsmouth Middle School, Freshman Academy

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