Baker High School juniors and seniors who keep their grades up and have acceptable conduct in school will be rewarded with a four-day school week. Superintendent J.T. Stroder said instead of negative reinforcement for students he suggested one with a positive twist.
“If they meet certain attendance requirements, a certain GPA requirement, proficient on the LEAP exam, or they’re proficient on the national norm assessment, then we would let them have a four-day week as an option,” said Stroder.
For students who don’t make the grade, Stroder said Fridays will be dedicated to helping them work on subjects where they are struggling.
When Stroder ran the idea by students, he knew he was on to something…
“So, when I sat down and talked to them and kind of explained it, they were all for it. They were like can we start this this year? We were like no, we need to work some things about, but they were overwhelmingly in support of it,” said Stroder.
Of the approximately 75 students in each grade, Stroder said about 25% of students would qualify for a four-day-school week, but he’s hoping with this new incentive that number will grow.
Since the pandemic, he said it’s been an ongoing challenge to get students to focus on their education.
“One of the things that we’ve struggled with has been that motivation after COVID, to kind of get back in the swing of education and so we’re just hoping that this will maybe spur them to commit to it a little deeper,” said Stroder.
The new incentive will go into effect this fall when students return to the previous campus that was flooded in August 2016.
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