|
Serving Princeton, Rosewood, Brogden, E. Johnston Co., W. Wayne Co., North Carolina |
|||||
ObituariesEffie L. Blake, Katie Edwards, Robert G. Pearce, Cecil R. Spell, Walter T. Williams Sr. Headlines Freshmen programs working at Rosewood New campus, new changes for Princeton Princeton board nominates two for planning board Girls basketball: Lady Bulldogs having fun, wins on court • Lady Eagles struggle Boys basketball: Dawgs beat down Spring Creek • Rosewood boys take losses Wrestling: Eagles take twelfth crown at Albemarle Photos Movies The Bucket List
|
 |
Freshmen programs working at RosewoodBy Barry Merrill 16 January 2008 — The transition from middle school to high school can be a difficult one for students, and an unsuccessful move can lead to the student getting discouraged about school and dropping out. Rosewood High School began a couple of new programs this fall that have helped with that transition, and have shown some early success. Principal David Lewis talked about the changes as the school was moving into testing at the end of the first semester this Monday.
All the high schools in Wayne County have moved into a transition model to help with the move at their school. As each of the schools is unique, each school was given some flexibility in how to enact the model at their school. Mr. Lewis said that Rosewood is one of the smaller schools in the county. They also have only one middle school feeding into the high school, so the students for the most part know one another and don’t experience the potential problems that come with mixing different student populations. One of the changes they made was to establish a Freshman Academy Hall at the school. For the most part, all the freshman classes are in one section of the high school, minimizing the confusion that comes from moving from one end of the school to the other for classes. “We have shrunk the campus for the freshmen,” Mr. Lewis said. They have also set up common planning periods for sets of freshmen teachers. This makes it easier for teachers to plan together. It also makes it easier for parents to visit several teachers when they come to the school to discuss their students’ progress. Another freshman initiative has positively impacted some of the older students at the school. “This year we developed a mentoring program where older selected students who showed leadership potential took a leadership development class. Each junior or senior in the class was assigned seven freshmen. Students are more likely to turn to other students when they need help.” While Mr. Lewis said results of a recent survey of the freshmen and the leadership team have not been tabulated, a quick scan of the responses show an overwhelming positive response. Mr. Lewis said the curriculum for the mentoring program comes from a book by Dr. Joe Hoedel, Role Models – Examples of Character and Leadership. The book uses examples such as Tiger Woods for his dedication to preparation, Booker T. Washington for his perseverance, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower for respect. Mr. Lewis said the curriculum was being used when he worked in Chowan County Schools for at-risk students, and he also used it when he was an assistant principal at Goldsboro High School before coming to Rosewood three years ago. “I didn’t have enough manpower to teach it to all of the freshmen, didn’t have the teacher resources, so we used it with the mentors to reach the freshmen.” In their surveys, they are asking to junior and senior mentors to critique and tweak the program. “We want to let the kids take ownership of it.” While Aycock has a similar Ambassadors program they have been using for several years, no one that he knows has used a formal class for teaching the mentoring and leadership skills. Again, the hard data isn’t in and tabulated, but Mr. Lewis says discipline referrals and grades so far indicate the freshman initiatives have made a definite improvement at the school. As the principal begins the last semester of this third year at the school, he feels good about where the school sits. He noted that every school struggles to find highly qualified teachers, but he is very proud of the staff at Rosewood and notes that they have had very little turnover in recent years. “We have some teachers who drive a ways, and with gas prices up, some have been doing the math, but we lost no teachers at Christmas and seem very stable." He noted he is still short one senior ROTC instructor, but feels very good about the substitute they have there, and all of the substitutes they can call on. While Rosewood did not have any newly National Board Certified teachers this year, he proudly states that eight of their 40 certified staff members have earned certification, a percentage which speaks highly of the quality of the staff. He also said that three others are pursuing certification. One concern when he came to Rosewood was growth in the area and the school’s ability to keep up with that growth. He said while two years ago they had a little growth spurt, this year has been fairly even with last year. He noted the growth pattern has shown a jump every two years, but even so, he and the school system are comfortable with the level, about 560 students in the four grades. He mentioned that soon they will begin talking about registration for the next school year and he hopes parents are aware of the growing numbers of opportunities at Rosewood. He mentioned that more college level classes are being offered through, and in some cases at, the school. Wayne Community College classes are available through computers at the school, or they can be taken by Rosewood students on computers at their homes. University of North Carolina-Greensboro has begun a new program called iSchool, offering on-line classes with UNC-G credits that can be taken to virtually any college or university. He said they have seen an increase in the numbers of students who are going to both four-year schools when they leave Rosewood, and those going on to community college. “Students are setting their sights higher, and that’s a good thing.” He said that many Rosewood students are getting enough credits while they are still in high school to start as a second semester freshman, and they recently had a student who entered college as a sophomore after earning a number of credits at Rosewood. Mr. Lewis cited Governor Easley’s goals to give each high school student the opportunity through programs like Jump Start and Distance Learning to graduate from high school with not just a high school education but also an associate’s degree, or certainly to get a two-year degree with only another year in community college, and getting that work in while still in high school with no cost to the parents or student. They also recognize that some students are not going to a career that requires a four-year degree, but they try to encourage students to continue to be open to learning. “You won’t make it if you don’t get training beyond here,” is a message he says they try to convey to the students. Wayne County is beginning a project called Work Keys, which tests certain entry level skills levels in certain industries to help a potential employer to gauge a student’s readiness to begin a certain job. Certain jobs such as technical writing, reading for comprehension, and technical mathematics are some of the skill areas involved. The program isn’t presently offered at Rosewood, but Mr. Lewis expect that to happen perhaps next year. Like an old basketball coach preparing his team for the second half, Mr. Lewis said they have to make sure that some of the successes they have seen in the first semester at Rosewood carry over to the second semester. “We have to keep going and finish strong.”
Back to this week's News Leader
|
|
Wayne Wilson News Leader
|
||
|
||||||
|
|
|||||
