Mentoring, CORE/Flex programs attack absences
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POLSON — If kids aren’t in school, it’s hard for them to learn so Polson High School is doing something about absenteeism.
Between CORE/Flex, mentoring and transition, Rex Weltz, principal at Polson High School, said the numbers of students absent and students earning Fs are dropping.
Weltz has the numbers to prove it.
For the last two years, the number of failing grades at the end of the first quarter dropped from 113 to 64, according to Weltz. While the school is not satisfied with that, Weltz said it’s a good start.
The freshman class is averaging about 92 percent attendance during the 2014-15 school year, Weltz said.
“Mentoring and transition are a huge piece,” Weltz said.
Seniors and juniors mentor incoming freshman through the Link program. Kris Sampson, PHS registrar, and Rich Sawyer, PHS band director, are Link advisers and teach a class for the Link leaders.
The Link Crew held orientation before school started in the fall, dividing the freshmen into groups with two juniors or seniors to lead the activities. They welcomed freshmen and gave the new students a tour around the school.
“At first the upperclassmen are shy, but then they come out of their shells,” Sampson said.
“And are leaders,” Sawyer added.
“Every year these kids blow me away,” Sampson said.
Link introduces the freshmen to the high school, and many appreciate the program.
“I was a typical scared freshman,” Elizabeth Violett said.
The Link program helped her and was “pretty effective,” she added, with the upperclassmen checking in from time to time.
Makayla Rasmussen liked the Link program. She was concerned about getting her work in on time. Her Link leaders were Claire Young and Skyla Krantz, and she visits with them sometimes. Makayla has a class with Claire so she sees her frequently.
Freshman Omar Perez said Link leaders are his friends now. Link helped him a lot.
“I was new and really scared,” he said “I’m from Mexico. We moved here a year and a half ago, and I had to learn English. I was nervous.”
At orientation he met upperclassmen. They toured the school and played games with the freshmen.
Nathanael Goodrich can relate to Omar. He’s also a freshman and moved here after living in China for 10 years.
“Link was great. It’s my first year here. It’s a new school and a new town,” he said. “The seniors were really nice and took us under their wing. They helped me feel more confident in a new school.”
Part of Link is upperclassmen keeping in touch with their group members.
“We do social follow-up,” Link leader Elena Sherlock said, “by asking them how school is going.”
At Halloween, the Link leaders held a ‘Trick or Trunk’ event and used the time to talk about upcoming finals. The leaders also passed out candy to the frosh.
One of the ways high school differs from middle school is that students have to accrue a certain amount of credits to graduate. If a kid flunks a subject, he or she has to retake the class. This can lead to a larger class load so Link leaders stress keeping grades up and studying.
“If we can keep students on track when they are freshmen and sophomores, they are much likelier to graduate,” Weltz said.
The Link program helps the upperclassmen as well as the freshmen, creating better school ambience.
“It’s not so segregated,” Erin Sampson said.
Link leader Nichole Lake agreed the school atmosphere is better.
When the two girls were in freshman basketball, they said they didn’t even make eye contact with seniors. Now that they are seniors they try to laugh a lot at basketball practice.
“We try to lighten things up,” Nichole said.
There’s been a huge change in freshmen since the beginning of the year, according to Wyatt Ducharme, a Link leader.
“They don’t all hang out in the freshman hall,” said Hudson Smith, a Link leader.
Sawyer said the Link program might help prevent bullying. He said some Polson parents sent a letter to the Link conference saying their child had been bullied all through middle school, but in high school, the student was having his or her best year ever.
“My kid isn’t afraid to come to school,” parents wrote in the letter.
That’s powerful praise, and it may be due to the Link program.
Link and CORE/Flex work together to impact the school.
CORE/Flex targets students who are failing a class. At the end of each month, the school runs the D and F report. Struggling students are assigned to the teacher whose class they are failing.
The students meet with that teacher 20 minutes per day, four days a week, for an entire month. It’s a systematic way to work with students.
“In our first month, we cut the failure rate by approximately 50 percent,” Weltz said.
Students who are passing have flex time; they can study, catch up on homework or touch base with a teacher.
How do the Link leaders spend CORE/Flex time?
“Homework,” Nichole said, laughing, “Meeting with the teacher.”
“It really does help, especially for athletes,” Erin added.
While the Link program and CORE/Flex might not be the whole answer, they are certainly helpful pieces of the attendance and grade puzzle for PHS students.
