Shaky Foundation?

After what seemed to be initial success, the Freshman Foundation concept, now in its fourth year at the district's three high schools, has yet to be proven a clear cut winner.

The concept where freshmen attend most of their classes in a designated building or area of the campus started in 2006-07 in Highlands County.

Initial data showed fewer discipline referrals and improved attendance. But with the district's high schools frequently registering "D" accountability grades, did the Freshmen Foundations improve student academic performance?

After the first year, the percentage of freshmen who were retained in ninth grade dropped from 32.9 percent (2005-06) to 27.5 percent. But then the percentage who failed to be promoted rose to 30.7 percent in 2007-08 and increased again to 34.6 percent in 2008-09, which was a higher retention rate than before the start of the Freshmen Foundations.

The schools and district are tracking attendance, discipline, grade point averages and credits accrued to evaluate the Freshmen Foundations. How many seniors walk at graduation with a diploma in hand, however, may be the ultimate measure of success.

"One of our big tests is going to be when we check our senior graduation rate," Sebring High Assistant Principal Ilene Eshelman said Thursday. "That's our real test; we started them; we finished graduated them."

As freshmen, the Class of 2009-10, was the first group of students in the Freshmen Foundations.

"We have the most honor grads we've ever had, but maybe they are just a strong group," Eshelman said. "I would like to think that the Freshmen Foundation greatly helped them."

The proof is that as they progress from ninth to 10th grade the teachers have commented repeatedly how much they can tell the 10th-graders are prepared, she said. The 10th-grade teachers don't have to retrain them in everything.

A major focus of the foundations has been the educators' three Rs - rigor, relevance and relationships.

The relationship component has been a strong point at Sebring High, Eshelman noted. "Our teachers work very well as a team; they look out for the kids." The teachers share conerns about students who are struggling academically or who are having personal problems, she said.

Concering ninth-grade retention, "Algebra is the killer," Eshelman said. Many freshmen are taking the "make or break" class.

Sebring High freshman Marlen Gonzalez said she is struggling in algebra, but hopes to be promoted to 10th-grade at the end of the school year.

She dislikes having most of her classes in the Freshman Foundation building.

"I want to be more interactive with the seniors and sophomores," she said. "They know more than us; they can teach us stuff."

Sebring High freshman Cheyna Dykes said she is doing well academically, but she also doesn't like being segregated from the other students.

"A lot of my friends are upper classmen and I don't see them because I'm stuck over there," she said pointing toward the Freshman Foundation building. "So I feel like I will be a new kid next year," when she will be taking classes outside the foundation building for the first time.

Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum/Instruction Rebecca Fleck said, "Right now we are having mixed results."

Progression (promotion) is based on credits and grade point average.

Fleck said she was just looking at a student's academic history, which showed at the end of ninth grade the student had enough credits for promotion, but also had a couple of classes with "D" grades.

Since that student had a 1.9 GPA and the minimum of a 2.0 GPA is required for promotion to the 10th grade, technically the student remained in ninth grade, she said.

In the middle of their second year in ninth grade, a student can be promoted to 10th grade, if they earned the necessary credits and improved their GPA.

"So we do have a fair number of mid-year promotions to 10th grade," she said.

A check of the Jan. 29 enrollment numbers, which are similar to previous years - shows that the freshmen class enrollment was 1,036 compared to 945 eighth-graders and 877 10th-graders.

That ninth-grade enrollment spike is mainly due to the students who have been retained in ninth-grade.

"We are definitely doing some positive things there," Fleck said. "We are going to be analyzing that further."

Secondary Programs Director Ruth Heckman will be preparing a Freshmen Foundation report in the near future for the school board.