Preparing students for high school success 

Determining how to identify those students who need extra help to be successful in high school has been a major focus of Scott Leick, the District’s first assistant director for on-time graduation. The District has a lot of data on students including attendance, classes taken, state test scores and academic performance, and has been working on the best way to track and share the information among administrators to see who is and isn’t set up for on-time graduation.

“We’re working on developing a system that can identify students who need support earlier,” said Leick. “By looking for early warning indicators, we can intervene even before students enter high school.” 

Interventions vary and can include tutoring, mentoring and matching class schedules to meet student needs. 

As this was the first year of four-year high schools in Northshore, it has been important to recognize that ninth graders in junior high school look different from ninth graders in high school. They are in a different structure and a different environment, which can make a difference in tracking data on students in grade nine over time. In addition, these students fall under the state’s new requirement for 24 credits to graduate. 

Most of the 2017-18 school year’s work has involved diving into how to use the information available, how to differentiate needs and developing a comprehensive plan to better support students. 

(Northshore School District, Community newsletter, Summer 2018)