The transition from sixth grade to seventh grade is tough. The level of difficulty and amount of work means students must spend more time and be more organized.
In the past, many students have had to deal with those changes on their own, but thanks to the new STARS program, Encampment seventh graders know a handful of students, and a teacher, will always have their back.
“A lot of students were going home to places where no one was asking them what is going on, and so there was no accountability,” Leslie McLinskey, Encampment English teacher, said during a presentation at last month’s Carbon County School District No. 2 school board of commissioners.
McLinskey, along with teachers Rick Martin and Kara Sandlian, knew the best time to help at-risk students was to step in before those students became overwhelmed, so last spring they invented the STARS program. By starting school five minutes earlier, knocking off one minute from each passing period and snipping two minutes from each class, the teachers were able to come up with 25 minutes at the end of the day. The teachers created hand-picked classrooms of seven to 12 students and a teacher and dedicated those final 25 minutes to making sure each student knew the evening’s homework, prepared for upcoming assignments and received extra help in areas in which they were struggling.
“We really tailored the groups to the teacher ... thought about what kids would really respond well to Mrs. (Pam) Kraft, what kids needed a male role model, what high school kid was the best role model for a seventh grade kid,” McLinskey said. “It took us a long time to figure out.”
It was an ambitious plan, and the only way for it to work was to get the entire faculty on board. They not only needed to get the schedule change approved, but they needed to alter the way they approached students and fellow teachers.
“We first came up with goals, and we needed 100 percent teacher commitment, we ... came up with rules and guidelines,” McLinskey said. “Every Monday, we’re checking grades, updating other teachers regarding class work.”
Seventh and eighth graders are now required to carry their planners and write down their assignments. The STARS teacher makes their students look over the planner at the end of the day, and the STARS teacher also checks in regularly with the student’s classroom teacher.
The program works because not only do the teachers make students accountable, but fellow students also.
“We paired them carefully so there was better social and academic interaction,” McLinskey said. “The high schoolers mentor with the at-risk junior high kids.”
STARS also gives students already excelling a chance to get a head start.
“I like to get homework done early so I have more time for extra activities like sports or FCCLA,” McKenzie Powell, Encampment eighth grade student, said.
Teachers have had to blend hard and fast rules with a little flexibility to make the new program work. McLinskey called STARS time sacred - no practices, no meetings, no early dismissal - but, with one minute less in the passing period, she has also been easier on students trying to hustle to class from physical education.
It’s been working pretty well, the staff held their end of it, making sure students are responsible for taking care of homework and staying organized and getting the intervention they need,” Encampment Principal Mike Erickson said. “I’ve done my part making sure they are not wandering the halls. It’s been such a big cooperation between all the people in the building.”
The teachers played a video for the CCSD No. 2 school board and audience featuring students, teachers and explaining how the new program has affected them. If some of the students’ endorsements are any indication, STARS is shooting beyond expectations.
“I can get my homework done ahead of time, and I won’t get done at, like, 10,” Spencer Knotwell, seventh grader, said. “It helped me a lot. Like, usually I get Cs, but now I’m As and Bs.”
It helps teachers because they now know students cannot use the excuse they forgot, or didn’t know, an assignment was due. Classroom teachers know a STARS teacher is helping that student keep track of assignments with the planner.
“They have to meet a few different roadblocks about not doing their work,” art teacher Kraft said.
It also helps tutors pinpoint students who need extra help that much earlier so they can spend a little one-on-one time catching those students up to speed.
“I love it, kids are getting their reading done and turning in assignments,” McLinskey said. “Overall, it’s been incredibly successful, and we would like to continue the program.”
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