Dist. 116 working to improve offerings for at-risk students

Round Lake Unit District 116 schools are stepping up efforts to improve the educational experience of academically "at-risk" students.

The district administration is targeting subpar graduation and attendance rates for immediate improvement by introducing guidance and mentoring networks for students beginning this summer and fall.

Special summer classes for K-12 students will begin next week. Course offerings run the gamut from the Illinois Summer Bridges, an extended learning program for elementary students, to a credit-recovery program for high schoolers who may have failed a class during the school year.

"The programs are designed to provide enrichment as well as remediation opportunities," said District 116 Chief Education Officer Janet Elenbogen. "Transition planning will prepare our students for the changes that lie ahead and will give them the confidence and tools to meet the challenge."

Beginning in the fall, transition teams will counsel, mentor and support students in an effort to improve the academic performance of those entering elementary, middle and high school. The goal is to push students to clear educational hurdles by motivating them to learn more about themselves.

"The real trick is to find the hook with each kid - whether it is sports, technology, or developing specific career skills," said Chief Financial Officer James Tenbusch. "When the student realizes that there is an inherent need for them to be in school as part of an underlying strategy of success, then hopefully the obstacles to learning will begin to fall away."

Freshmen students frequently have the district's highest rate of failure, a fact the administration has cited while calling for academic improvement.

"It is clear that the district does not consider failure to be an option for our incoming freshman," Tenbusch said. "We really want to make that the critical first year is a successful one."

Plans include the implementation of structured study halls for "at-risk" freshmen, the use of junior and senior student mentors, team-building exercises and additional tutoring services.

The daily transition from their homes to the classroom is also an issue for some high schoolers in the district.

Tenbusch said a "more therapeutic" and "intervention-based" approach toward frequently truant students and the introduction of a special truancy bus service are possible solutions still under consideration for the fall.