Program giving freshmen head start on high school

By ANNE COOK
© 2004 THE NEWS-GAZETTE
Published Online August 6, 2004

CHAMPAIGN – Melorene Grantham really tried to earn maximum performance points at Jump Start sessions to support her teammates.

"I tried hard for my team and for myself," Mel said. "I didn't want the team to lose because of me."

And that's one of the points Central High School teachers who run the two-week program, which ended Thursday, want to make. Their goal is to give the 40 incoming freshmen who attended a head start in high school, and that includes letting them know what kind of behavior is appropriate in Central's halls and classes.

"We started the program five years ago because we knew we had students coming in who were not well-focused," said Central Principal Don Hansen. "We want them to get acquainted with the building, the teachers and the expectations here."

Hansen said Central planners looked at other programs in the state before deciding what components they wanted to use for Jump Start.

"We put a lot of our own spin on it," he said. "We try to keep the number of students at about 40 who need the most help. This isn't for kids with discipline problems. It's for kids who need extra focus."

Anne Munroe, a Central math teacher who's been with the program since the beginning, said teachers decided to organize youngsters into teams and to award points for a wide variety of students' positive contributions to keep youngsters motivated to attend classes, to arrive on time, to think about their teammates and community and to give them goals to accomplish.

This year, Mel accumulated the most points of anyone and won a prize and a chance to participate in a drawing for the top prize, a new computer won by Kenny Williams. Runners-up included Taylor Battle, Chris Adeoye and Sarah Demissie, who all got gift certificates to popular stores and other prizes.

Munroe said key sessions this year focused on a book, "Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens," and a movie, "Pay it Forward," about a man's efforts to do favors for others.

"We watched the movie and had a discussion about what they can do to pay it forward," she said. "It was so sweet. Several of them talked about going to nursing homes so we went to Care Centre of Champaign and they were so helpful."

The youngsters wrote letters to invite their heroes to lunch Thursday at Central. They listened to school leaders talk about clubs, sports and other activities at the school. They talked with their teachers about different teaching and learning styles. They had a scavenger hunt to find important information on Central's Web site.

They learned rules for high school from the Champaign Police Department's school liaison, Ed Wachala. They listened to practical advice from former Jump Start participants about how to survive freshman year. And they tackled mental, physical and food challenges Thursday just before the wrap-up luncheon.

"It was interesting," said Munroe wryly of the food challenge, which introduced the youngsters to savory gourmet snacks like caviar, sardines, pickles and Limburger cheese.

Central teacher Chris Schultz taught at Jump Start this year for the first time.

"I tried to get them to understand that high school is rigorous," Schultz said. "I want them to start thinking about their organizational habits, about paying attention. They're still immature. They don't get it yet, and they're in for a surprise. High school's a lot different than middle school."

Other program teachers include Pat Johnson, Phil Wilder, Tiffany Gholson-Johnson and Melissa Steen. When the school year begins, they'll all stay in touch with their students through the year and they'll meet as a group at the end of every quarter. The teams, the point system and the prizes will continue. For example, earning highest honors wins 10 points for the individual and the team. Dean referrals cost three points and suspensions cost five points.

"It was all enjoyable, meeting the kids, working with them, seeing their enthusiasm," Schultz said. "It's good to know them before school starts. We'll be familiar faces in the hall."

Gyshon Allen and Altha Starns spoke at the luncheon about their experiences with the group.

"This helped us get prepared, and I'll feel more comfortable when school started," said Gyshon, 14, who invited his former Edison Middle School basketball coach, Todd Anderson, to lunch.

He said he enjoyed the "Pay it Forward" events.

"We talked about ways to do it, and we made speeches," Gyshon said. "I talked about not being afraid to succeed. You do what you have to do."

"I'm very proud of Gyshon," said Anderson, a Champaign firefighter.

"He's become a young man. Jump Start's wonderful. It really gives them guidance. The summer between eighth and ninth grades is a tough time."

Kenisha McLean of Champaign came to lunch at the invitation of her sister, 14-year-old Brittany Jackson.

"I like the teamwork exercises they do," McLean said. "I was so confused when I came to high school here because it's a big school. I wish we'd had something like this."