BETHALTO - Civic Memorial High School ninth graders prepared for the school year with a freshmen orientation.
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Throughout the day on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, students could walk through the building, practice opening their lockers, and learn more about the teachers and expectations in the high school. Teacher Phil Schneider oversees the FreshMentor program, which connects freshmen students with upperclassmen mentors. He explained that the orientation and the FreshMentor program eases the transition to ninth grade.
“It helps the freshmen and it helps the upperclassmen,” Schneider said. “The first day of school, no matter what grade, you always get kind of anxious, especially freshman year. We want to make it as easy as possible and kind of set them on the right path from the very beginning.”
Justin Newell, Civic Memorial principal, echoed Schneider and noted that programs like the FreshMentors help students feel more comfortable. Students are able to learn more about the high school and form friendships before their first day.
Civic Memorial’s most recent scores from the 5Essentials Survey indicate that these initiatives have been effective, Newell added. The 5Essentials Survey is a research-based survey that measures factors that can lead to student improvement.
“When this first started, we looked at our data from the state on the 5Essentials and looked at students transitioning to high school and student-teacher trust, and [the FreshMentor program] has been able to help us,” he said. “This past year we scored a 99, which is one of the highest scores you can get. It’s these programs that really make that happen.”
Superintendent Dr. Jill Griffin noted that staff members like Schneider and Newell are the reason for the high school’s success. She said she loves Civic Memorial’s FreshMentor program and freshmen orientation day, as she believes it helps students feel connected to their school and transition into the school year.
“We’re really fortunate to have such great leadership both at the teacher and administrator level, making sure our kiddos are acclimated,” Griffin said. “I think it speaks volumes to the staff in those buildings that our students feel such a high level of trust with the staff that they work with every day…Kids today have it much harder, I think, than we did, or at least I can speak for myself. So it’s important for them to have those trusting relationships at school. I think it’s foundational to their success.”
Looking forward, Newell and Griffin are excited for the school year to begin on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. They look forward to welcoming back students and staff members, and they hope that the freshmen orientation and FreshMentors program will have prepared ninth graders for a successful transition.
“We’re focused on having a really positive school year,” Griffin added. “We are dialed in and ready to welcome kids back on Wednesday and welcome our staff back on Monday and just put the focus on our kids and make sure that we’re doing everything we can to support them socially, emotionally and academically.”
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