By Andy Diffenderfer
Correspondent
Rossville Middle School is offering a Saturday program for its eighth-graders to help them achieve an important testing benchmark and advance to high school.
Rossville Middle principal Wanda Janeway said the school’s Performing Academically With Success for Learning — or PAWS for Learning — can give students an extra boost and improve their scores on the state’s Criterion Reference Competency Test.
The test is administered to first through eighth grades, and according to Georgia law, no eighth-grade students can advance to ninth grade if they do not meet grade-level requirements in reading and math.
The test is not easy, Mrs. Janeway said.
“It’s a real eye-opener when they take the test,” she said. “We make every effort to calm their fears.”
The voluntary Saturday sessions at Rossville Middle began in January and are scheduled for Feb. 27, March 6, March 20 and March 27. The sessions begin promptly at 9 a.m. and end at noon, Mrs. Janeway said.
Three classes of about 55 minutes each comprise the Saturday sessions.
In the sessions, Mrs. Janeway said, teachers are ready to handle any “domains,” or more specific topics, within math or reading — for example, algebra or geometry.
Mrs. Janeway said the school identifies and invites eighth-graders who previously did not score well on the CRCT or may need extra help to the Saturday program. She said an average of 56 students have attended the first couple of Saturdays, and many come to hone their math skills.
“With a lot of them, it could be a difference of just one or two questions, and the classes can be the difference between passing and failing,” said eighth-grade math instructor David Rodriquez, who’s a teacher in the Saturday sessions.
PAWS SESSIONSThe voluntary Saturday sessions at Rossville Middle School are scheduled for Feb. 27, March 6, March 20 and March 27. The sessions begin promptly at 9 a.m. and end at noon, according to principal Wanda Janeway.
On Saturdays, smaller groups of students mean more one-on-one time with teachers, Mr. Rodriquez said. Students who may be shy about asking questions in a class of 20 or 25 may be more comfortable raising their hands in the smaller setting, he said.
“Our kids have been very positive about Saturday school,” Mrs. Janeway said. “They understand how important the test is and how difficult it is.”
Andy Diffenderfer is based in LaFayette, Ga. Contact him at andydiff97@comcast.net.