When almost every classroom was moved for the beginning of this school year, there was one change that seemed slightly larger than the rest. This new change was made to create the Freshman Academy. The academy is described by English teacher Mrs. Andrea Niedbala as, “the idea that all freshmen have the same teachers for each of their core classes.” These core classes— English, History, Science, Mathematics and Computer skills— are taught by Niedbala, Mrs. Maria Porter, Mr. Craig Atkison, Mr. Ed Shephard and Mrs. Valerie Marburger, respectively.
“These classes have the same expectations,” Niedbala said. These expectations affect Academic Assistance Period (AAP) policies, homework policies and writing expectations. For successfully meeting these new AAP expectations, students will earn .25 credits towards graduation.
The students are also required to have an “Academy Binder,” which holds all items for each core class. This limits the likelihood of students losing papers or forgetting them in their locker.
“It is not how all kids organize themselves,” Freshman Devin Daley said. He believes the binder is a good idea, though. Daley feels that the binder hasn’t improved his organizational skills.
Other students have differing opinions. “The Academy Binder has kept [freshmen] much more organized,” Freshman Maddie Edder said.
The main goal for the academy is to help the freshmen adapt and grow into their new environment as they enter high school. Though the teachers say the students are adapting to the changes quickly, some students find the change unnecessary.
“I think the academy is a good idea to help freshmen transition more smoothly into the high school,” Edder said. “But I think it would help even more if we were mixed in with upperclassmen more often.”
Sophomore Stuart Skogsholm feels that his freshman year was successful and that it was “way better than [his] middle school years.”
So, why was the system changed? Now that students have the same teachers, the core class teachers are able to work together towards helping underperforming students, multi-class projects and other various tasks the teachers would have never been able to do without the establishment of this academy. Ultimately, the Freshman Academy allows teachers to both connect better with students and with one another to make the freshmen have a smoother transition into high school.