Jackson students benefiting from Professional Learning Communities

Every Wednesday this semester, when the school day ends for most students, Brooke Brantley sticks around.

The Jackson Junior High School ninth-grader chose to stay late for after-school tutoring, part of a program called Academic Lab.

"Last year I failed math," she said. "This year I'm making C's."

Academic Lab is one of a number of intervention programs offered by the Jackson School District, part of the professional learning communities concept, a component of the No Child Left Behind Act that focuses on ensuring that all students learn.

The focus of the communities concept is on any student who is having problems that could hinder progress toward graduation, senior high school principal Vince Powell said.

KIT DOYLE ~ kdoyle@semissourian.comTeacher Kim Anderson and Kyle Randen, 13, discuss a math problem Wednesday during Academic Lab at Jackson Junior High. Teachers from a variety of disciplines are available to help students in the tutoring program.

"There are countless situations that may affect a student and their academic progress, and these may arise at any time during a student's school career," Powell said.

Indicators include a drop in grades, changes in overall attitude and behavior, recent changes in home life, loss of family members and other factors, he said.

"PLCs are in place to ensure that all students learn and that none get left behind or fall through the cracks."

A written commitment of cooperation from both student and parent is required before attending Academic Lab. Four teachers monitor and assist a maximum of 25 students per day in a classroom environment.

The program has been a hit with students, according to Cory Crosnoe, Jackson Junior High School principal. More than a quarter of the schools' 800 students participated last year, some for temporary help, some for long-term assistance. Teachers may recommend students to Academic Lab, but participation is voluntary.

"Thursdays are popular because there are usually a lot of tests scheduled for Fridays," Crosnoe said. "PLC schools develop pyramids of interventions which provide students with help as soon as they experience difficulty rather than relying on summer school, retention and remedial courses."

The school district's three social workers meet with at-risk students at any one of the district's nine attendance centers.

Social worker Laura Baugh works at the junior high school as well as the North, Gordonville and Millersville elementary schools. She said the faltering economy is a major factor hurting students' studies.

"I find the working poor families are barely making it," Baugh said. "Many of these families work multiple jobs and that makes it hard for them to be there for their kids."

She said less parental involvement in schoolwork often leads to academic problems, creating a "catch-22" dilemma.

"If they don't work all the time they can't feed and clothe their kids. If they do work all the time, the kids are left without the constant monitoring and support of their parents," she said.

Parental involvement is critical to the success of any at-risk intervention, according to social worker Ruth Ward.

"The majority of students who are not having academic success have family issues and parents that are not as involved as they could be," Ward said.

She said some students' subpar grades can be traced to behavioral problems, social problems or substance abuse at home.

"Our job is to find solutions to the problems so that the academics can improve," Ward said.

A new program added to the district this year is a 30-minute advisory period that emphasizes relationship building, conflict resolution, character building and goal setting. Administrators said they noticed a marked reduction in discipline referrals recently, possibly a benefit of advisory periods and other programs under the program's umbrella.

"The main goal of these interventions is not to reduce the number of discipline referrals," Powell said. "The fact that discipline issues drop in a PLC environment is a positive by-product that stems from students having their social, emotional, and academic needs met in the school environment."

"I think the social workers building relationships with families, making home visits, offering support to those families so that their students can be successful is making a difference," said Dr. Beth Elmendorf, associate superintendent of student services for the district. "The development of the advisory periods this school year has reinforced this and allowed us to reach more students."

The 93.5 percent graduation rate for the Jackson district is well above the state rate of 85.2 percent, Emmendorfer said, but the district is not about to get complacent.

"We don't want to take that for granted," she said. "We don't want it to decrease."