BACK TO SCHOOL 2018

Freshman Academy to debut at Portsmouth High School

Also, new policy will close property to outside community during school hours

By Jim McGaw
Posted 8/24/18

PORTSMOUTH — After months of fanfare and with administrators addressing parental concerns, Portsmouth High School will roll out its new Freshman Academy when classes begin on Wednesday, …

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BACK TO SCHOOL 2018

Freshman Academy to debut at Portsmouth High School

Also, new policy will close property to outside community during school hours

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — After months of fanfare and with administrators addressing parental concerns, Portsmouth High School will roll out its new Freshman Academy when classes begin on Wednesday, Aug. 29.

The new program, designed to ease the transition for incoming freshmen at PHS, is a model that Middletown High and other public schools have started. It uses a team-teaching approach to help ninth-grade students get comfortable in their new learning environment so they can excel academically and socially, administrators say.

At an informational session for parents held in May at the middle school, PHS Principal Joseph Amaral said many freshmen who enter a new school typically see their grades drop off during the transition period. In addition, they’re not always engaged academically and have problems with attendance, time management and organizational skills, he said. 

Freshman Academy is designed to deal with those issues by giving students a personal connection with a cohort of teachers offering extra support for pupils who are struggling academically, and developing strategies for improving time management, study skills and self-advocacy, he said.

Parents have expressed concerns over the loss of a learning center under Freshman Academy, saying the study period is important because it allows students extra time to complete homework assignments or to meet with teachers for extra help. 

Mr. Amaral, however, said the decision to eliminate the learning center was not connected to the new program, but rather to allow freshmen to to take an extra elective so they could meet the state minimum requirement for instructional minutes. 

To counter the loss of a learning center, incoming freshmen were allowed to sign up for a “pride block” made available on a first-come, first-saved basis. A pride block meets once a week for 30 minutes and gives students the opportunity to meet with the teacher of their choice for extra help in a particular subject. 

Freshmen will also have an extra tool to help them navigate the new program, Mr. Amaral said.

“As part of that, (freshmen) students will be getting the one-to-one (Google) Chromebooks and they’re going to be distributed Wednesday and Thursday of this week,” he said Monday.

Most students at the middle school will also be able to take Chromebooks home with them, but for now only freshmen will have them at PHS. The district has been rolling out the program, adding one additional grade per year for budgetary reasons and to allow time to train teachers so they can use the technology effectively.

More security upgrades

In an attempt to make its campus more secure, the high school is implementing a new policy this year: No members of the community will be able to use the school property for any activities during the school day.

“You can’t play tennis at 1 o’clock in the afternoon during the school day,” Mr. Amaral said, adding that the outdoor track will also be off limits for walking or running. 

“From 7:15 a.m. to 1:55 p.m. is strictly for students,” he said, adding anyone can use the outside facilities during that time on the other “185 days of the year” when school’s not in session.

Mr. Amaral said he doesn’t anticipate the new policy will generate much pushback from the community. “We have to make sure we’re keeping students safe,” he said.

This year, teachers will also use key cards to access certain access points to the building, he said. “If someone opens a door during the day, a message is sent electronically to notify certain parties,” he said.

There will also be a new security specialist stationed at the school “to compliment the student resource officer” in vetting students and other people entering the building, Mr. Amaral said.

You’ll also see a few more stop signs and speed bumps at PHS this year. “Sometimes students go a little too fast,” the principal said.

New CTE program

Also new to Portsmouth High School this year is a career and technical education (CTE) program — The Academy for Engineering Design — that’s open to students from outside districts. The offering is endorsed by Project Lead the Way, a national nonprofit organization that provides a transformative learning experience for K-12 students and teachers across the U.S.

“That’s going to be exciting because at the end of it, students can get college credit from universities that accept that program,” Mr. Amaral said.

PHS first became a state-approved regional career-tech center last year, when it unveiled its Academy for Education, Child Development and Human Services and Academy for Media Communications and Digital Video Production.

The school is continuing its focus on “restorative practices” to help build more responsible students and also “doing a lot of work with professional development and staff” on social emotional learning, he said. “We want to be more aware of students who have social and emotional needs and how to respond to those needs,” Mr. Amaral said.

Enrollment slightly up

Projected enrollment at PHS is hovering at about 930 students, which Mr. Amaral said is “slightly up” from last year. Some of that is due to a higher-than-anticipated freshmen class, which was initially projected to be around 217 but is currently at 242, he said.

“With the career technical education program, there’s a little bit of a surge,” he said.

About 30 Little Compton residents will be attending PHS this year. “I think it’s the first time we’ve seen 100 percent of Little Compton students coming to PHS. We’re also seeing a surge of kids from Pennfield and St. Philomena,” he said.

Portsmouth High School

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