Every year at least a few freshmen, or any other grade, will fail a class and not get their required credits. Freshman who are new to highschool and its systems can sometimes fall behind first semester, usually called “off track” students. And to those students, some teachers give their advice on how to bounce back, “I think the biggest thing for students to do is just [wanting] it,” freshman English teacher Chris Martin said
The term “off track” is a word used to describe freshman students who failed classes first semester and are off track from graduating on time. To be “on track” a student must have all their required credits by the end of their highschool career, a freshmen student who failed their English class first semester may be considered “off track” as they would no longer have the ability to get their four English credits needed to graduate unless they were to double up.
Martin says that “off track” students need to reach out and advocate for themselves , to show that they want to succeed. “Sometimes it’s hard for a teacher to get to everybody at a level that they may need to succeed. So sometimes it has to fall on [the student’s] own shoulders, and [they] need to reach out. And then once [the teacher knows] that [they] need that help, it’s a lot easier for teachers to continue down that path and get [them] the help [they] need.” Martin says,
“Nothing’s going to be guaranteed,” Martin said, “but once [they] flip that switch and decide that [they] want to succeed and [they] want to get grades, passing grades, I think [they’re] on the right track.”
Science teacher Mike Garnier also comments on students considered “off track.” “The first semester of freshman year, if you fail every single class, it’s going to be work to fix it,” Garnier said, “but it has very little bearing on whether or not you can graduate.” Garnier finishes, Garnier also comments that he wishes that by not having a late fee, he can teach his freshmen students the persistence that they need for their later classes in higher grades.
Garnier barely graduated high school, he says, and he only found what motivates him in college, which made him do very well there.
“The number one thing I want to tell kids is don’t quit,”Garnier said. “Don’t let this make you quit second semester.” This year he has seen fewer freshman students failing than his last three years of teaching at WAHS, and the ones who did are now working to get better grades this semester.
Assistant principal Tristan Heisley, who oversees the current freshmen, agrees. “We have a better on-track percentage this year than we’ve had in previous years, [meaning] more students are passing classes than in previous years,” Heisely said. “We do a lot of frequent check-ins with the kids on their grades. We’re doing [it] in study skills.”
Freshmen write down their classes, grades, and missing assignments so they can prioritize the classes they are struggling most in. “I truly believe that every single kid could be on track,” Heisley said. “And a lot of the conversations that I have with kids right now [are] just kind of telling them, you need to lock in, because they can do it.” Heisley explains that a lot of kids go home and do other activities like video games or watching TV and do not prioritize schoolwork, Heisley continues by saying that a lot of freshmen do not actively realize how their present impacts their future, year’s down the road
