Schools plan curriculum changes for freshmen

Big changes are in store for high-school students in Kalispell next fall, but the biggest are in the works for a group already in the midst of transition: freshmen.

For the first time since 1969, ninth-graders will join upperclassmen at Flathead High School. Glacier High School will open in August with grades nine through 11; the next year, all four upper grades will attend the school.

To help freshmen cope with a new, sometimes intimidating, environment and to improve their chances of academic success, administrators at both high schools are implementing freshman academies. Teams of teachers will teach the same groups of students all year, and students will benefit by getting to know a small group of peers and teachers well, Mike Lincoln, Flathead High assistant principal, told the Kalispell school board Tuesday night at a work session.

Creating these small communities within the large high schools is perhaps more important in Kalispell than in other high schools in Montana, said Lincoln, who will coordinate Flathead's freshman academy next year. Here, incoming ninth-graders hail from a number of schools across the county instead of coming from one or two junior highs.

Research suggests students in freshman academies have more successful high-school careers than those without the program, Lincoln said. In general, they are in fewer fights, have lower truancy rates and have steady or improved grade-point averages. They also tend to be better prepared for the 10th grade, he said.

It's a concept that more schools will embrace, said Micah Hill, Lincoln's counterpart at Glacier High School next year.

"I have long felt that every child needs to have a core group of teachers looking after them," he said.

All freshmen will take the same core classes: English, math, science, health and 21st century literacies, a new addition designed to teach students life skills. The class will help students consider what they'd like to do after graduation and what they'll need to do during the next four years to get there. Students also will learn financial, information and learning (study) skills and human relations.

With the freshman academy program and a seven-period day, which also goes into effect next fall, ninth-graders will have three electives instead of one.

Some of those electives can be used for the new career-related classes both schools will offer. The classes will be available to all high-school students, but freshmen and sophomores will be able to earn career-field distinctions on their diplomas if they meet certain requirements.

Teachers in the academy will have more flexibility as well, Hill said. If, say, a science teacher needs longer than the 50 minutes typically allotted for a class, another teacher in the group can teach a shorter period that day. The next day, he can take a longer period to make up for time lost.

Teachers also will have the opportunity to work with their counterparts in other groups; those who teach the same subject will all have the same prep period. It will give teachers the chance to compare notes and discuss issues or concerns.

Not all teachers are thrilled about freshman academy, though. Some simply don't want to teach ninth-graders. Others worry that if they agree to teach in the academy, they'll be stuck in that position forever.

The latter isn't true, Hill said - though the administration is requesting a three-year commitment from academy teachers. To help with the former concern, teachers will have four ninth-grade classes and one class outside freshman academy.

With the team structure, classrooms will need to be in clusters. They'll probably be arranged around science rooms, which - because of the need for sinks and other equipment - are less flexible than classrooms for other subjects.

Science is also the subject most likely to need longer than a 50-minute period from time to time.

This isn't a problem in the new high school but could prove a little trickier to accomplish at Flathead, Lincoln said. Some teachers are worried they'll lose their classrooms if academy groups occupy an entire wing or two.

That isn't an issue yet, Lincoln said.

With teachers who will be leaving or retiring at the end of this school year, Lincoln said he probably could get enough classrooms for the freshman academy without kicking anyone out.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.