FAILING FRESHMEN:

9^th Grade Students and Success at Dodge

Mr. G. Heanue

Grace Dodge Career and Technical High School

.

Look! You’ve made it thorough seven months of high school - only three months left! Or have you? Have you had to cancel any summer plans and vacations because you’ll be here this summer? Or are you too afraid to say it at home and are just going to repeat your 9^th grade classes next year. According to a recent Daily News article approximately 40,000 ninth grade students will be repeating the grade next year. That is almost half of New York City’s 9^th grade population. Are you in this position?

The Mayor has designed a task force of 9^th grade students to report back to the city about the problem of failing 9^th grade students. The mayor has leaders on education, principals, teachers, guidance counselors and all kinds of so-called experts on youth looking into the problem and possible solutions to it. But it is YOU, as the 9^th grade student, who the mayor really wants to hear from. What is keeping, maybe not you, but some of your friends and peers from moving on to the 10^th grade and finding success at Dodge?

You and your group are part of the Mayors Task Force to look into the problems facing 9^th grade students entering New York City’s Public Schools and not moving on to the 10^th grade. He has set up a variety of teams at different high schools to look into the issues that face 9^th graders. You are part of the Dodge task force.

Your group will essentially:

• present your findings with numbers and facts to define the problem here at Dodge
• reasons why your group believes that a high number of 9^th graders are failing all or most of their classes
• state what is currently being done to remedy this crisis
• what policies should be implemented to improve the current trends
• provide studies and use current research being done throughout the Bronx where other policies might provide guidance to Grace Dodge
• Compare other public or vocational schools in the Bronx or throughout the city to Dodge. How does Dodge compare? Better of Worse?

These findings will result in the following products:

1. A 3-4 page proposal that

a. States the existing problem.

b. How the current policy is not working

c. And what solution your group has come up with to resolve the problem

2. Present your findings as a group to the Department of Education (the class) with your proposed policy to deal with the problem you have studied and researched. This should take no less than 3 minutes and no more than 5.

3. A 5 minute question-answer session from the class that exhibits your knowledge of the problem and your solutions.

Work will be done in groups of three (3) or four (4) to complete the following steps.

The following links will take you to the TIPS documents that will assist you in gathering evidence and finding solutions to the problem.

1. Define and describe the problem and the current Dodge policy using worksheet #1.

2. Gather evidence, statistics, case studies, surveys or articles by experts to support your beliefs by using worksheet #2.

3. Identify causes of the problem using worksheet#3.

4. Define and evaluate the existing Dodge policy using worksheet#4.

5. Develop several policy solutions using worksheet#5.

6. Select what your group feels is the best policy using worksheet#6.

Completing these 6 steps will aid you in completing your task.

Your group will use the INTERNET sites listed in the “Resource” section of the web quest along with text material to complete the Public Policy Analyst worksheets

These workshops will be used to complete your task of a four-page proposal. Use the six-step PPA as a guideline for your task report.

It is your group’s assignment to divide up the task and complete the product assigned. You will be graded as a group so the group is as “strong as its weakest link!” GOOD LUCK !

Annual School Report Cards

Back To School: 9^th Grade Pivotal Back to school: Ninth grade proves to be a pivotal year for youths

The Pivotal Year

Isolating 9^th Graders: From the American Association of Educators

Possible Reform Strategies for Entering 9^th Graders

Chaos in High School Environment: Inside Schools

A Third of NYC Students Failing

GENERAL WEBSITES

WWW.GOOGLE.COM

WWW.ASKJEEVES.COM

WWW.YAHOO.COM

These search engines are general in nature but will help you navigate the web and find additional resources

Evaluation

Your final grade will be based on your written report and your oral presentation.

1. 3-4 Page Findings and Proposal Paper

Quality	A	B	C	D	F
Meaning & Development	-Excellent use of facts, quotes, and statistics from websites. -Fully developed, 5-paragraph research paper that follows task.	-Very good demonstration of quotes and statistics from the web. -Well-developed 5-paragraph paper that follows task.	-Average use of quotes and statistics from websites. -Average development of 5-paragraph paper.	-Poor or incorrect use of quotes and statistics from websites. -Poor development of paper; has less than 5 paragraphs.	-No use of quotes and statistics or plagiarized from websites. -No development -Paper has only 3 paragraphs or less.
Organization	-Excellent focus. -Paragraph organization perfectly follows task.	-Very strong focus. -Paragraph organization appropriately follows task.	-Average focus. -Average organization of paragraphs -Some awareness of task.	-Lacks focus. -Paragraphs lack organization and awareness of task.	-No focus. -No organization. -No awareness of task.
Language & Conventions	-Excellent vocabulary. -Varies sentence structure and length. -Perfect grammar, spelling, and paragraphs.	-Strong vocabulary. -Good variety of sentences. -Very good grammar, spelling, and paragraphs.	-Average vocabulary. -Average variety of sentences. -Average grammar, spelling, and paragraphs.	-Poor vocabulary. -Poor variety of sentences. -Poor use of grammar, spelling, and paragraphs.	-No attention to vocabulary usage. -No variety in sentence structure. -Incorrect grammar, spelling, and paragraphs.
Format	6-step Public Policy Analyst (PPA) format followed perfectly.	PPA format mostly followed.	PPA format followed Inconsistently.	Little or confused understanding of PPA format.	No use of PPA format.

Your completion of this web quest should provide you with the following knowledge and skills:

· You should understand the problems and challenges facing incoming 9^th grade students.

· You should be able to suggest new approaches in policy making.

· You will have learned how to make convincing arguments to support your findings.

Congratulations! Upon your successful completion of this web quest, you have researched and analyzed the social problem of failing to find academic success upon entering high school using the TIPS Public Policy Analyst guidelines. Through this web quest, you analyzed the problems that students encounter coming into high school. Your group reviewed current public policy solutions to failing students, while creating your own new solutions for promoting success in our own school. You have learned to develop a five-paragraph research report using websites for evidence and information to complete your task.

Hopefully, you all developed some creative solutions to promoting success in the 9^th grade at Dodge. Perhaps your research and solutions will help you, your peers and future incoming students find success at Dodge.

Reading

c	Read and comprehend informational materials.

Writing

a	Produce a report of information.
e	Produce a persuasive essay.

Speaking, Listening, and Viewing

a	Participate in one-to-one conferences with the teacher.
b	Participate in group meetings.
c	Prepare and deliver an individual presentation.

Conventions, Grammar, and Usage of the English Language

a	Independently and habitually demonstrate an understanding of the rules of the English language in written and oral work.
b	Analyze and subsequently revise work to improve its clarity and effectiveness.

Public Documents

E6a	Critique public documents with an eye to strategies common in public discourse.
b	Produce public documents.

Information Tools and Techniques

a	Gather information to assist in completing project work.
b	Use on-line sources to exchange information for specific purposes.
c	Use word-processing software to produce a multi-page document.
d	Write, add content to, and analyze a relational data base.

Tools and Techniques for Working with Others

a	Participate in the establishment and operation of self-directed work teams.

SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS: # 1 and # 5

Technology Standard 5: Students will apply technological knowledge and skill to learn, use, and evaluate the internet and its many uses.