Central High School :: Freshmen Academy Information

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Central High School Freshmen Academy

The Freshmen Academy was established at Central High School in 2008. The goals of the academy are to increase students' grade point average, increase attendance rate, decrease the number of disciplinary referrals, decrease the number of dropouts, decrease the number of tardy and dress code infractions, and decrease the number of failures in ninth grade. Our students will attend most (if not all) of their classes on the freshman halls: (South 1 and North 1).

The Freshmen Academy promotes interdisciplinary instruction and employs cooperative learning strategies. The academy is divided into three teams which allow team teachers to meet daily to develop strategies for enhancing student success.

All freshmen are required to take the Education for Careers (Freshmen Success) course. This class is a freshman course that includes study skills, character education, career building, cooperative learning, and technology training. Additionally, the class focuses on note taking, time management, and social relation skills needed in all academic and elective courses. The main objective of the course is to facilitate students' recognition of the value of education and the importance of becoming internally motivated to succeed in school.

Freshmen Academy Teams

The academy staff spent the 2007-2008 school year researching both the needs of Central High School and various transition programs around the state. It was determined that the teaming concept used widely at the middle school level had merit on many levels and was the most practical way to address the transition needs of freshmen.

Our teams are comprised of core-class teachers with common planning periods. The team will collaborate on students' progress, strategies, and curriculum related topics. This is also a convenient window for teachers to plan across the curriculum, set up team teaching opportunities, and share insights into students with whom they have connected. Team meetings will be documented and submitted to the Freshmen Academy Coordinator for follow up and support.

Every month the teams will recognize one student that exemplifies the goals of the Freshmen Academy to serve as Student of the Month. These students will have their picture taken with the principal and freshmen academy coordinator and featured in the Central City News.

Team A (Silver)

Kellie Dobard	kdobard@centralcss.org	World Geography & Honors
Pamela Granier	pgranier@centralcss.org	Algebra I & Geometry & Honors
Emily Kaiser	ekaiser@centralcss.org	English I & Honors
Brandon LaGroue	blagroue@centralcss.org	Physical Science & Honors

Team B (White)

Randy Blanchard	rblanchard@centralcss.org	Physical Science
Adrienne Brown	abrown@centralcss.org	World Geography
June Donze	jdonze@centralcss.org	Algebra I
Debra Sandlin	dsandlin@centralcss.org	English I

Team C (Maroon)

Catherine Jackson	cjackson@centralcss.org	Physical Science
Jennifer Rogillio	jrogillio@centralcss.org	English I
Greg Simmons	rsimmons@centralcss.org	World Geography
Ken Worsham	dworsham@centralcss.org	Algebra I

Education for Careers (Freshmen Success) Teachers

Cindy Dykes	cdykes@centralcss.org
Heather Ellis Mike Gardner	hellis@centralcss.org mgardner@centralcss.org
Angie Wall	awall@centralcss.org

Freshmen Academy Guidance Counselor

Maureen Lobrano

mlobrano@centralcss.org

Parent-Teacher Conferences

We have an open-door policy for parents to meet with the Freshman Academy Teams on either Wednesday or Thursday upon request only. The teachers cannot conduct any conferences about your child without prior preparation and knowledge of your arrival. To schedule a conference with your child teachers, please contact our guidance office at (225) 261-3045. The conference times for the Freshmen Academy Teams are as follows:

Team A	9:20 - 10:05
Team B	10:20 - 11:00
Team C	1:45 - 2:25

We are all Brick Layers

With consistency, support, and enthusiasm, our Freshmen Academy partnership has been handed the unique opportunity to lay the foundation for the future of Central High School. Our ninth graders will earn the right to enter their upper classman experience through their freshman foundation year. We will not set them up for failure, nor will we allow ourselves to fail. There is too much talent within the walls of this building for failure to be an option. The catch, however, is simple: we all need to buy into it, or it cannot work. The reality is clear: it has to work.

Other Advantages of the Freshmen Academy

Hall traffic will be reduced significantly.
Freshmen will have greater access to academic help .
Teachers in the Academy can set common expectations and rules for the whole class.
Teachers will have common planning time to discuss student needs and work with at-risk students.
With all classes contained in one part of the building, freshmen tardies should be reduced significantly.
The Academy will allow for early detection of possible problems and quick intervention.

Message from the Freshmen Academy Coordinator

I will be present in classrooms, in the hallway, and in the cafeteria. I am here to support the Freshmen Academy teachers as well as the students. With mutual support, we are going to take what is not perfect and try to make it so. Along the way we will identify challenges and meet those challenges accordingly. This academy is ours - we own it. We make decisions together, evaluate the results, and shape our future decisions accordingly. It is all about communication and a shared vision. Feel free to contact me at any time; my door is always open.

Jamar R. Jackson

jjackson@centralcss.org