By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

RESERVE – According to a report from Brian Darrow, a math teacher at East St. John High School, the newly established Wildcat Success Academy is living up to its name.

“We’ve seen a complete 180 in their excitement and will to succeed,” said Darrow of the 43 students currently taking part in the program.

These students have all for one reason or another fallen behind in their studies and are consequently older than the other students in their classes.

Nearly half of the students enrolled at East St. John High School are over age. The number is nearly the same for the freshmen who just became part of the student body this year.

This factor is part of the reason the state chose ESJ to be part of the pilot study of a new type of program to accelerate the advancement of overage students.

Another reason is the graduation rate. The state’s graduation rate currently hovers somewhere near 67 percent. In St. John the Baptist Parish, it’s closer to 60 percent. East St. John’s graduation rate for the 2008-09 school year was 58.8 percent.

The state Department of Education has set a goal of an 80 percent graduation rate for the year 2014. And they want East St. John’s graduation rate to be that high as well.

That is why those in charge of the program at ESJ, Coordinator Elizabeth Leatherwood and Rosann Hymel, are taking their time in placing new freshmen in the Success Academy as these students are set to graduate in 2014.

According to Leatherwood, some will be selected in January, when the program is expected to grow by about 20 students.

“They will be monitored more closely,” she said.

She said tabs must be kept on the entire freshmen class, including those who leave ESJ before graduating.

One of the main advantages to being enrolled in the Success Academy is that students can work at their own pace and advance through lessons much more quickly than if they were in regular classes.

One Success Academy student, Walter Young, said, “I already got through three classes. That would have taken a whole semester.”

His classmates seem to agree.

“I have accomplished more courses than I would have in class,” said Adrianna Avalos. “I’m more interested than I was in class.”

Some of that extra interest is generated by the ready availability of one-on-one assistance.

Said Troy Thompson, who minutes before was getting a little extra knowledge from teacher John Ellis, “We have more help. There’s more than one teacher, and if you’re behind, there’s more than one person to help you.”

The one-on-one aspect of the learning environment offers another advantage that may not be so easily recognizable to the students. According to Darrow, the environment helps foster healthy relationships between the students and teachers. And for students who have fallen behind, their views of authority have often become damaged over the years.

Students in the Success Academy sit in the special class for two periods per day. In the converted double classroom, each student works at a computer to complete the online coursework.

Individual lessons start with a study section, followed by a practice test. If a student scores over 70 percent on the practice test, they are allowed to take the real test. They must score 80 percent on the test to pass the lesson. Because the lessons are computer-based, students can take as much or as little time on individual lessons as is necessary.

There are also plans to make the entire experience virtual so lessons may be worked on anywhere at any time. Until that is put in place, the students can take advantage of after school tutoring on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“It’s great. You go by your own pace, and if you don’t know it, a teacher will help,” said student Theron Tatum.

“In the long run, our goal is to have our students pass LEAP and complete eighth grade on time,” said Superintendent Courtney Millet.

In the meantime, however, she is pleased with what is being accomplished at the Wildcat Success Academy.

“I think it is going very well. Better than I anticipated,” said Leatherwood. “We have some students who probably would not still be in school if they were in regular classes. We have a couple of students who we convinced to come back to school.”