When the Syosset Board of Education introduced the district’s new initiatives for high school orientation at its Jan. 6 meeting, Superintendent Thomas Rogers said there are often social isolation and academic performance loss during transitionary periods.
“The better a school district is at all building transitions, whether at the elementary or secondary level, the more students can have an even experience and not lose their momentum,” he said as the district unveiled plans to make these changes easier.
Jeanette Wojcik, assistant superintendent for elementary curriculum, instruction and assessment, said the district aims to “[prepare] students for academic success, but also [support] their personal growth.”
She said the district creates a sense of community to build confidence during the elementary transition periods. During the shift from universal pre-K to kindergarten, students are invited to guided school tours and screenings, she said. As students move from fifth grade to sixth grade, there are student and parent orientations, school visits and tours of classrooms.
Rogers said the district has recently focused on the transition between eighth and ninth grade.
“Our students are under increasing levels of stress, especially in these transition periods,” said David Steinberg, assistant superintendent for secondary curriculum, instruction and assessment.
In a new initiative, eighth-grade students will tour the high school, guided by high school students and teachers. Each middle school will tour the building twice and will explore electives and new curriculum offerings.
Steinberg said students will also receive a ninth-grade-specific course offering list, and eighth-grade students will be introduced to Naviance to prepare them for high school. Eighth- graders will meet with high school guidance counselors to discuss courses, which parents can attend, Steinberg said.
The district will continue its annual summer orientation for ninth-graders, where students meet High School Principal John Durante, learn about course offerings and attend a club fair.
Board members expressed concern that school culture pressures students into taking advanced classes.
“It’s a culture,” said Board of Ed Trustee Lynn Abramson. “It becomes the feeling in eighth grade, and they all talk about it.”
The number of students enrolled in one or more honors classes has risen in recent years, Steinberg said. This year 77% of ninth-grade students enrolled in advanced courses. Steinberg said the number of students who drop these honors courses has decreased in recent years as well.
As more students enter into advanced courses, the district offers additional academic and mental health support systems, Steinberg said.
The district offers multiple “on and off ramps” to advanced course offerings, Steinberg said. He said the district encourages students to develop self-awareness to know when they are ready to take on Regents-level, honors and advanced placement courses.
“We want every single one of our students to attempt the most rigorous program, and that doesn’t necessarily mean that they have to take advanced coursework,” Steinberg said. “It means it has to be rigorous for them no matter what the level.”
