MHS stages intervention for students struggling during pandemic

A program at Maricopa High School is trying to help students struggling to learn in the pandemic age and help them catch up if they have fallen behind or failed classes.

“COVID has had an impact on our student achievement,” principal Deana McNamee told the Maricopa Unified School District Governing Board on Wednesday night. “And so, in response to this impact, Maricopa High School has implemented a school-wide intervention model this semester to give students an opportunity to recover some credits from the first semester, as well as provide support to students who have expressed a need in various areas.”

The intervention program, known as the Achieve Period, gives students who are behind or struggling with their schoolwork or with the distancing that comes with at-home schooling, a chance to get caught up, get help or give those who are thriving an opportunity to get in extra study time. Other periods during the day were shortened to accommodate the addition of the Achieve Period.

“We heard the need to support the kids with the social and emotional support they need,” McNamee said. “They’re feeling very disconnected, feeling lonely in their homes. Limiting the exposure is good, but also, we have heard that the consequence, the side effect of that, is being able to communicate and interact. So, after hearing several calls for help to help foster support for the whole child, we looked at several models that were supported by evidence. This semester, in response to that need, we have developed the reteach approach.”

The reteach program is designed to help students who failed math, English, science or social studies in the fall semester raise their grade to a D. McNamee said the goal is simply to recover the credit so the student can graduate on time. Then the school will need to continue to provide them support so they can get up to a proficient level.

In response to a question from board vice president AnnaMarie Knorr, McNamee said students will be split up according to their individual needs, so that higher-achieving students are not in the same class with those needing to repeat material from the fall semester.

“We have strategically placed the kids that need a reteach with teachers to support that reteach,” she said.

The reteaching will be done in 45-minute blocks four times a week during the following periods: Jan. 5-Feb. 1, Feb. 8-March 3, March 23-April 23 and April 26-May.

In other discussion, Maricopa School Superintendent Dr. Tracey Lopeman announced the district is formally seeking applicants for the board’s vacant fifth seat to complete the term of longtime member Patti Coutre. The seat has been open since Sept. 29, when Coutre resigned her position to take a post as an administrative assistant in the maintenance department at MUSD.

Applications are available on the Pinal County Schools web site and must be notarized and received in the Pinal County school superintendent’s office no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 22.

The district reported a total of 44 positive COVID tests among MUSD staff and students in the week of Jan. 7-13. That total includes 11 cases among staff and 33 students.

Lopeman also noted that anyone in group 1B is eligible to get vaccinated at the 24-hour-a-day location at State Farm Stadium in Glendale. Group 1B includes K-12 staff along with adults age 75 and older, childcare workers, and law enforcement and protective services workers.

“The State Farm Stadium vaccination clinic is a state clinic and is open to everyone,” Lopeman said. “Typically, they want you to get vaccinated where you live or work. This is open though to everybody because sometimes you might have difficulty getting an appointment in Pinal County.”

The State Farm site is currently taking appointments through Jan. 31, she said.