Bridging the gap

The 2011 Chesterton High School graduation ceremony included students from the first Bridges class, a program that began at CHS in the summer of 2007. The Bridges program was designed as a "bridge" into high school for struggling, at-risk eighth-graders.

In the past, only 33 percent of the bottom 10 percent of each class entering Chesterton High School would graduate in four years. With the help of the Bridges program, 60 percent from that initial group walked the stage and received their diploma, a 27 percent increase.

Research shows that for an at-risk student to succeed in high school, success in the ninth grade is essential. In Duneland, struggling eighth-graders are placed in a seventeen-day summer program to give them the tools they need for academic success.

During these seventeen days the Bridges students meet with teachers and work on activities such as learning the new school design, reviewing study skills, and honing their organizational skills. Students also take field trips to colleges such as Ivy Tech, Purdue North Central, and Valparaiso University. These field trips show students what educational opportunities exist after high school. One of the most valuable activities is a challenge education course in which students engage in activities that require them to work together to solve problems.

The summer program ends with a conference in which the students present evidence to their parent(s), teacher, and assistant principal that they deserve to advance to high school. This presentation is an emotional experience for many students and parents as these previously struggling young people explain how they plan to be successful in high school.

The Bridges program continues throughout the ninth-grade year. The students are placed into a student-resource-time block (SRT) on alternating days with their summer school teacher and an additional teacher. In their SRT, students are assigned a mentor from the 11th or 12th grade. The Bridges mentor "knows the ropes" and assists by tutoring, checking homework, reminding the student about missing assignments, encouraging use of the academic planner, and even inspecting lockers.

Throughout the school year the Bridges program includes incentives such as pizza parties and bowling, often paid for out of the teachers' pockets. Mentors also go out to lunch at the end of the year, thanks to a generous donation by Matt Underwood from Horace Mann Insurance.

Chesterton High School has also begun a Foundations program, which uses a variety of data to identify at-risk ninth graders who might have been missed by the Bridges program. This program is more academically oriented, but also utilizes mentors and the SRT block. Students can work their way out of the Foundations program by improving their academic performance.

In all of these endeavors, the school community strives to meet the needs of every student entering Chesterton High School, so that the road to graduation is not just a dream but a reality.

This column solely represents the writer's opinion.