Hollister
– Nearly one-third of San Benito High School freshmen taking a
regular English course received a failing grade for the 2005-2006
school year, according to numbers recently released by the
district.
Hollister – Nearly one-third of San Benito High School freshmen taking a regular English course received a failing grade for the 2005-2006 school year, according to numbers recently released by the district.
“We look at this as one piece of data that will help us question the others,” SBHS Principal Debbie Padilla said. “What we’re really interested in is what’s causing this to happen.”
Thirty percent of the class of 2009 will have to repeat freshman English, and an additional 18 percent received a grade of D. While students can graduate with D marks, they will have to repeat the class if they plan on attending a four-year school after graduation. In 2004-2005, 19 percent of freshman English students received an F, and 13 percent received a D.
Altogether, 48 percent of the 560 students enrolled in English 9 had “insufficient” English grades on their final second-semester report card. There are separate English 9 courses for Honors, Special Education and English Learner students, but some crossover still takes place.
“We have 10th-graders repeating English 9, and some advanced English learners getting ready for that transition, and RSP (Resource Specialist) students placed in English classrooms,” Padilla said. “So there’s some crossover.”
English standards for ninth- and 10th-grade students are virtually the same, Padilla said: reading, writing, listening and speaking, with an emphasis for freshmen on reading comprehension and writing strategies. Freshmen read “To Kill a Mockingbird”; “Romeo and Juliet”; a contemporary novel, “The House on Mango Street”; and several short stories and pieces of poetry out of a textbook during the year.
“And there’s lots and lots of writing,” English Department Chair Amber Berg said.
The good news is that as students progress, the F rates decline. In English 10, the F rate dropped to 22 percent, then to 18 percent for English 11 and 8 percent for English 12.
“As students become accustomed to high school they are able to do well, and they can achieve at a level we expect of them,” Padilla said.
These figures are still higher than in 2004-2005, however, when the F rate for each class was 16 percent, 12 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
Educators believe students perform so poorly their freshman year because the transition from junior high to high school is often an awkward one, at best.
“Unfortunately, this is a national trend,” Padilla said. “They’re going from being kids to young adults, in their eyes, and that can be stressful. They want their own freedom but they’re not quite sure how to handle that freedom.”
Moreover, many freshmen are coming from decidedly smaller schools than SBHS, which serves nearly 3,000 students and has a typical freshman class of more than 600. Results from the recent Healthy Kids survey indicated that only 12 percent of SBHS freshman thought they had opportunities for meaningful participation at school, and around 26 percent reported that they had a caring relationship with an adult at school.
“I think in the past it was easy for freshmen to get lost coming to this school, and fall behind,” Berg said.
SBHS educators are piloting a number of new ideas to combat that effect, the most visible being the advent of the ‘Baler connections advisory or study hall period. The extra 40-minute period four times a week is designed to be especially helpful for freshmen, who can use the time for study hall, tutorials with specific teachers or small group work.
“We’re really focused on peer connections and staff connections right now, to help our students succeed,” Berg said.
Berg suggests that parents keep track of children’s homework as a good way to ensure they succeed in their English classes.
“The school provides a day planner for every student, so as long as you check that every day you’ll know if they’re staying on top of their work or not,” she said.
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or
ds****@fr***********.com
.
