The prospect of catching up with their same-age peers can motivate at-risk middle school students to complete two years of academic work in one year, said Karen Smith and Diana Sustaita of the Fort Bend Independent School District near Houston, Tex. The XL-2-9 (Accelerate to Grade Nine) program at Hodges Bend Middle School enables students who have fallen behind to complete 7th and 8th grade in one school year, so they can "get to high school when they should get to high school," they explained.
Now in its second year, the XL-2-9 program was designed to combat an increase in the school's overage population, Smith said. "A lot of our kids were turning 16 before leaving middle school," she noted. By the time these students completed high school, they would be 20 years old, and "most wouldn't stick it out that long."
The 45 students in the program may have low self-esteem or lack family support, but they also have "well-hidden intelligence," Sustaita said. "These kids are misdirected, not stupid." Knowing they're in an accelerated program—not "a class for dummies"—helps restore students' self-esteem, Smith added.
- Small class size. Limiting classes to 15-18 students allows teachers "to give them the attention they need," Sustaita explained.
- A focus on important concepts. "We use a lot of thematic teaching," Smith said. "We don't try to cover every single detailed fact."
- Enrichment activities and use of manipulatives. "These students learn by doing," Sustaita said. "They are very resistant to just sitting in class listening to you speak."
- Use of computers. "Students are very motivated by using computer technology," Sustaita noted.
- Tapping artistic ability. "A lot of these kids love to draw," Sustaita said, adding that drawing is relatively easy to integrate into lessons.
- Fostering organizational skills and good study habits. "We have students keep a daily planner," Smith said, and students are coached in study skills during their advisory period.
- Scheduling elective classes in the afternoon. "These students perform much better in academics in the morning," Smith said.
- Parental involvement opportunities, including two required classroom visits each semester. "We want them to see their children in action," Sustaita said.
Accelerating at-risk students may seem counterintuitive, but remediation simply puts them further behind, these educators noted. "When you're dealing with at-risk students, you have to try something new—even if it seems out of the ballpark," Sustaita said.