Dominik Villatoro was nervous to start his freshman year at Woodbridge High School last fall.
At times, he found middle school difficult. He became distracted easily. At one point, he wasn’t passing most of his classes. So, as he prepared to transition to high school, keeping his grades up was top of mind.
As the final stretch of the school year approaches, Villatoro’s fear didn’t become reality. In his current classes, he’s focused and pays attention to the work. He’s not fearful about the transition to sophomore year.
Villatoro is one of 50 students at the Northern Virginia school who was picked to participate in a pilot program in which teachers across different subject areas regularly talk about how students are doing. The pilot came about through a partnership with the Center for High School Success, and early results have been promising.
“My grades are a lot better,” Villatoro told WTOP.
This year, three Prince William County high schools — Woodbridge, Unity Reed and Osbourn Park — are participating in the pilot.
At Woodbridge, school staff picked 50 students who may have struggled in middle school, either academically, behaviorally or with consistent attendance. They formed two teams of four core teachers — one from social studies, one math, one science and one English educator. Those teachers have a normal caseload of 150 students throughout the day, and the kids in the pilot program are embedded within those classes.
The teachers have dedicated planning time to “come together and talk about instruction, behavior strategies, and most importantly, talking about these 25 kids and what they need, when they’re successful, what’s made them successful, and how administration can support or counseling can support those students,” said Kim Geck, Woodbridge High School’s specialty program coordinator.
In some cases, social studies teacher Michael Daughtry said, if a student has their head down the whole class or is exhibiting “class clown behavior,” he can meet with other teachers and inquire about whether they witnessed the same in their class. If one of the teachers has a strategy to help a student, the collaboration can help ensure it’s used in multiple classes.
Daughtry, who has 25 students in the program, said all of them had previously told him they were nervous about high school.
“And just about every single one of them has said high school has been a great experience so far with ninth grade, and they’re excited to move on to 10th grade. That, for us, right there is a huge success,” he told WTOP.
Freshman Lobo Maritinez, for one, is typically reluctant to speak out loud during class, but the extra communication with teachers has made her more comfortable.
“The admin and teachers, they talk to you more, and they’re more there for you,” she said.
Students who aren’t directly in the program benefit, too, Daughtry said. A strategy that helps one student is likely to assist others, he added.
Next year, Woodbridge High is hoping to have 100 students participate in the program. And by 2030, school leaders are hoping to have all ninth graders enrolled.
Eight Prince William County high schools are slated to participate next school year, and about $164,000 has been budgeted for the ninth grade success program across those campuses.
Heather Abney, Woodbridge High’s principal, said scheduling students with the four specific teachers participating in the pilot can be a challenge. But educators seem rejuvenated, students are enjoying school and parents say their kids are looking forward to attending, which may not have been the case previously, Abney said.
“Research shows that ninth graders struggle the most in high school, so we realized that we needed to put something in place to support our ninth graders with attendance, with grades and just enjoying the high school experience, because we believe that that’s what is going to help them graduate on time,” Abney said.
The workload, number of classes and teachers and the size of the school can all pose as challenges to new high schoolers. But Geck said students are now “starting to celebrate their own successes, because for some of them, this is the first time they’ve seen success.”
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