Guided study helps reduce F’s
Posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/61769/
BENTONVILLE — When freshman Ashley Clark learned she had a failing grade in U. S. history, she was told she must attend a new program called guided study.
It wasn’t a punishment, she agreed; it was a chance for her to improve her grade and pass the ninth grade.
Guided study is one of Bentonville High School’s latest interventions to help its students succeed. Designed specifically for freshmen and funded with a grant, the program provides teachers in the four core curriculum areas — social studies, math, science and English.
Up to 15 students are allowed in each class, and the class meets during the school’s seminar period. Seminar is held twice a week and works much like a study hall. It’s a time when students can get extra help, do makeup homework or plan club meetings.
“ I like getting the help because it makes it easier to learn, ” Clark said. “ Without (guided study ), I would probably be failing the class still. ”
Students can be recommended for guided study by their parents, teachers, counselors or even by themselves, assistant principal Rose Spaulding said.
“ Once they’ve been assigned, they have to stay in guided study until they have a C or better, ” she said.
The reasons a student may need guided study vary. A student may simply be struggling to keep up in a large classroom environment, or the student could have been sick and needed extra time to catch up in a course, Spaulding said.
Brian Pelfrey is in the program for help in English class, he said.
“ I’m getting better, ” he said. “ The way I’m going now, I should be able to move on (to the 10 th grade ). ”
Pelfrey said if guided study wasn’t available, the process of trying to succeed would be much harder for a number of students.
“ People like me wouldn’t be able to succeed, ” he said. “ They would fail, and they wouldn’t understand (the material ). It would be an endless cycle of not understanding. ”
So far the program seems to be working. The percentage of F grades went down noticeably from the first semester last school year compared to the first semester this school year, Spaulding said.