9th-Grade Academy Information

9th-Grade Academy

I am excited to provide detailed information about the new 9th-Grade Academy beginning in the fall of 2020.  Below is an introduction.  I would encourage you to read the complete document that provides a broader overview of the 9th-Grade Academy.  

9th-Grade Academy Information

Introduction
Born from our continued work with Challenge Success, the idea to explore the ninth-grade student experience in more detail emerged roughly 18 months ago.   After months of research, along with internal reflection, debate, and dialogue, we are excited to announce that students entering high school in the Fall of 2020 will enjoy a slightly different experience than their predecessors. The Fall of 2020 will feature a new 9th-Grade Academy.

Ninth grade is an extremely challenging year for many high school students for a variety of developmental, social, and academic reasons. High-school years are formative ones for adolescents, and a successful 9th-grade experience is critical to success. Even students who handle transitions well can struggle when leaving their highly structured elementary and middle schools and entering larger, comprehensive high schools. Those who do not cope well with this dramatic transition, and who become disengaged from their high school during their first-year often struggle throughout high school.

We are acutely aware that being a teenager today is different than it was five, ten, or twenty years ago. In many respects, it is harder today than it was for previous generations of teens. There is a mountain of evidence to support this statement, but one look no further than a September Washington Post article, which named students from high-achieving schools an at-risk group.  Further, many factors are influencing the experience for teens, and no generation is immune to modern social, political, and economic developments; however, there is no doubt we are witnessing an alarming rise in mental health challenges in our student population.  As 2020 dawns and we enter a new decade, we accept that the world and teens are far different than they were one or two generations ago, and we need to adapt and change the way first-year-students experience 9th-grade.  

The 9th-Grade Academy Committee began working earnestly over the summer to identify, among other things, the most important questions to consider, to review data collected to-date, to identify and review current academic research, and to prepare for site visits and informational sessions with educators from Brookline, Lexington, Parker Charter, and Beverly. 

Ultimately, the 9th-Grade Academy will feature smaller learning communities that will employ a team approach to ensure all students are known and supported during their transition to CCHS. The goal is to create an emotionally healthy, socially inclusive, and academically supportive first-year experience for our 9th-grade students. We want them to transition to 10th-grade with more skills, more resiliency, better coping mechanisms, and move on better prepared to succeed in high school and beyond. As with most new endeavors, the 9th-Grade Academy will develop and evolve as we learn through shared experiences. Still, we are confident students will enjoy a better experience and leave well prepared for 10th-grade and beyond.

9th-Grade Academy Information