by Tim Troglen
Reporter
Hudson -- For the second year in a row, a school within a school is helping to brighten students' academic future.
The Hudson High School Twilight School was established last year with a $45,000 grant from the Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation to help students who are struggling in one or more academic areas or who cannot fit required classes into a full class schedule.
"It is mainly a credit recovery program for juniors and seniors who are behind on credits toward graduation," said Lynn Villa, high school unit principal and program administrator.
She said the grant allowed the school to equip a 15-computer lab, purchase the online curriculum, and train and pay teachers.
"Students enrolled in the course agree to attend after school sessions at least two hours per week, when a teacher is available to offer assistance," Villa said.
She said all mid-term and final exams must be done in the high school, but students are allowed to do other course work outside the school.
"Students read and work through the curriculum and then complete submissions, which are basically homework assignments," Villa said.
She said after the students submit the assignments via computer, they are graded by a teacher.
The teacher, Carol Neff, also runs the daily administration of the course, Villa said.
Neff said the program helps supplement English, social studies, math and science, with each section having several sub-sections.
She said the students must complete three submissions a week, from any computer with Internet access. She said the submissions consist of 30 to 75 questions, which are graded with immediate feedback given.
"We have a lot more control with this program," Neff said, adding she can check on student's work from school, home or vacation.
According to Neff, students enrolled in the Twilight School are not getting an academic pass.
"The same standards and benchmarks are taught in this course that are taught in other classes," Neff said. "And we also hold to the strict Hudson grading scale."
Neff said she can keep track of when a student logs on, as well as how much study time is put in. And, if a student is struggling in a particular area, Neff said that the submission can be reset or a lesson taught around it.
Villa said 20 students are using the class this year to recover credits and or get added help in struggling areas.
"Last year, 28 students participated in the Twilight School completing a total of 65 courses," she said. "Nineteen of them were seniors who may not have graduated with their class had this option not been available to them."
Villa said at least one student would have left the Hudson schools to attend an alternative program, if not for Twilight.
"In that case, we would have lost our state funding for them," Villa said. "By keeping our students in our school we can better serve them, meeting not only their academic needs, but also their social and emotional needs as well."
Villa said the program was established after years of watching academically struggling students getting behind in school for a variety of reasons and dropping out.
"We saw a handful each year withdraw from Hudson to earn their credits in another way, most commonly through the Life Skills online program offered through Akron City Schools or through University of Kentucky correspondence courses," Villa said. "In an effort to keep our students in Hudson where we could offer them the support and contact with caring teachers, we researched alternative programs and settled on the one we use now for our Twilight Program."
Patty Picard, school district director of teaching and learning, said the Twilight program is more cost efficient and time efficient than other programs helping struggling students.
"And we are very pleased with the quality of the program, " Picard said.
Villa said the district would like to expand the scope of the program.
"Web-based courses work for some people," she said, "... but nothing can replace the interaction and depth in a classroom with a teacher and peers."
E-mail: TTroglen@recordpub.com
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