On June 6, Jefferson hosted a town hall meeting to discuss the recent negative attention in the media due to the underperformance of the Class of 2015 in math classes. The meeting included a presentation given by Principal Evan Glazer followed by a question and answer period.
The meeting was highly orchestrated due to the May 23 forum, in which parents outrightly criticized certain teachers. During the question and answer period, Glazer, Director of Student Services Brandon Kosatka and Math Department director Jennifer Allard answered questions pertaining to their respective domains.
During the meeting, Glazer was able to clarify what percentage of students are on the academic watchlist and highlight some of the new remedial programs. As of the semester mark, 15 percent of the Class of 2015 was on the watchlist, but as of the start of fourth quarter, that number has decreased to 11 percent.
Newly instated remedial efforts include peer tutoring and supplemental weekend study sessions. On Saturday, June 9, a remedial session headed by Principal Evan Glazer and attended by 75 students took place. Students focused on targeted math review. An earlier session on June 6 had been attended by 39 students.
“I think the remedial session went really well. Even when students finished their review assignments, they worked on supplemental worksheets,” Glazer said.
A remedial bootcamp over the summer is possible depending on results of a diagnostic test that Class of 2016 students will take.
“We still need to look at data from the final exams. For the new students, we will be looking at their middle school grades and performance on a diagnostic test,” Glazer said. “Depending on the results, we might set up a summer bootcamp.”
Future measures will be taken based on exit poll results of last week’s town hall meeting.
“Right now, it’s important not to worry so much about why students are struggling but address what we can do to help,” Allard said. “From the teachers’ perspective, we’re looking for what we can do for students. We’re definitely looking for suggestions from students and parents.”