HANK DEWALD /HERALD STAFF WRITER

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ROANOKE RAPIDS - Roanoke Rapids Graded Schools District Superintendent Dennis Sawyer is looking at many different ways to continue the improvement of AYP scores throughout the district, but the most notable approach is the addition of the new Transition Academy for eighth and ninth graders.

Sawyer and Technology Director/Public Information Officer Ann Phillips sat down with the Daily Herald Monday afternoon to discuss plans for the new school year that starts Monday.

The Transition Academy will include all eighth-grade students on Chaloner Middle School campus and all ninth-grade students on Roanoke Rapids High School campus.

This new approach to supporting students through the transition from middle school to high school is designed to make the students feel more confident and better prepared for learning.

The Academy will focus on the five design principles: personalization, powerful teaching and learning, a serious work ethic, parental involvement and community involvement.

Teachers of both the eighth- and ninth-grade students will be implementing rigorous common practices in their classrooms so that the transition from the eighth to ninth grade can be made more smoothly. Extra efforts will be made by all parties involved to demonstrate the importance of education and to encourage commitment and persistence in attaining learning goals.

According to Sawyer, the academy will dedicate itself to guiding the students into a serious work ethic through a rigorous classroom environment that provides added support to meet the needs of all of the students. "This will be a very personalized experience for the students," added Phillips.

The eighth and ninth graders will be separate from the other students at their school. They will have their own core teachers under the leadership of Tammie Williams, who will coordinate and oversee the academy. Sawyer described it as one learning community.

There will be ongoing dialogue between the teachers and Williams, and the teachers themselves, to evaluate their own professional development and to make sure no students slip through the cracks.

Williams will also bring business and community leaders to the academy for special classes with the students and to also take the students out into the community as well, in what Sawyer called place-based learning site visits. Visits to colleges and local sites will enhance the curriculum and keep students engaged in learning and focused on their futures he said. Students will also be provided with many opportunities where they can serve their community.

Sawyer said the staff of the Transition Academy met earlier this month to confirm "non-negotiables" and common expectations to be found in the eighth and ninth grade classrooms. Some of the "non-negotiables" to be found in each classroom are common note taking strategies, reading strategies, critical reading circles, primary source circles, low stakes writing and student reflection.

Common expectations, including classroom procedures and classroom disciplinary procedures, were also confirmed. The staff of the Transition Academy hopes that by implementing similar instructional strategies and procedures, the students will have more consistency in making the transition from the eighth to ninth grade and will find success more achievable.

The teachers will work closely together to ensure that high achieving students are challenged and struggling learners supported so that all students will be successful.

"These are our children," Sawyer said, "We are a community school district and always have been. We're working together. You can't let the students decide for themselves, to fail, and we're not going to allow the parents to give up. They owe it to their children, the school, the district and the community."

As a beginning activity, the Transition Academy is sponsoring a Freshmen (Ninth grade) Orientation Fair. All Roanoke Rapids High School ninth graders and their parents are invited and encouraged to attend on Wednesday, Aug. 20 or Thursday, Aug. 21 at 10:30 a.m..

To enable the staff to spend more individual time with the parents and students, the group has been divided. Ninth-grade students whose last name begins with A through K will meet in the RRHS auditorium on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. until noon and last names L through Z will meet on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. Ninth graders will receive their schedules at that time and be given a tour of campus.

For more information regarding the Eighth/Ninth Grade Transition Academy, students or parents can contact Academy Director Tammie Williams at (252) 519-7258 or go to the district Web site, www.rrgsd.org.