Advisory classes will no longer be for checking grades, discussing current events, doing homework, or just hanging out for freshmen and sophomores. Advisory class, starting Tuesday, February 12th, will be used for tutoring purposes from now on for struggling freshmen and sophomores.

“The Campus Leadership team discussed the predicted performance of our underclassmen on the End of Course exams/STARR test and determined using the advisory class would be more strategic in helping students,” Principal Daniel Girard said.

The decision came after results from last year’s EOC and this year’s Middle of the Year assessment results showed that freshmen were in trouble of not passing certain courses.

“EOC results were not very good especially in geography. MOY data showed this too,” Girard said.

Underclassmen students will be placed in a new advisory class where they will receive tutoring in a subject they are in fear of failing.

“I’m a little nervous about the change because I want to be with people I know,” freshmen Amanda Livingston said. “I don’t know if the tutoring will help but I hope it does.”

Akins follows a basket of measures, which states that on the 2013 Mathematics STARR test 84% of freshmen will reach level II in Algebra I and 10% will reach level II in Algebra I. 85% of sophomores are expected to reach level II on the Geometry test and 10% are expected to reach level III. For seniors, the campus must have at least 60% of eligible seniors complete and submit their FAFSA by August 30th. Lastly, 75% of freshmen, sophomores, and juniors who are two or more years below their reading level must demonstrate two years growth in the Spring SRI administration.

“The basket of measures is a performance incentive for teachers,” New Tech director Barry Bacom said. “If we meet it, salaries will be affected positively.”

Upperclassmen are not affected by the change as much due to the fact they do not take the STARR Test. Seniors willfocus on college work, including completing their FAFSA.

“The change is really out of nowhere for us but it is whatever to me,” senior Aashraya Nakarmi said. “The underclassmen apparently need help so they’re getting it.”

However, some seniors are upset because their advisory teacher will be leaving to tutor the underclassman. Any student who has a core subject teacher will be placed into a new advisory with a teacher who does not teach core subjects.

“Well it is the middle of our senior year and we’ve been with the same advisory teacher since 10th grade,” senior Alexis Colunga said. “It is frustrating how they just want to switch things up. I feel that they should have found a better way to go about their ‘tutoring’ or whatever before having to rearrange everybody.”

The advisory change is not permanent. Students will have new advisory classes for five weeks until the next MOY test, March 5th.

“We may revert back to the old schedule based on student performance,” Girard said. “We will look at the data and see if there is improvement.”

Students that still need improvement in a subject will continue in a tutoring advisory during session two of the advisory intervention, March 19th to May 1st.

“MOY 2 data will determine where students go during advisory,” Girard said.

After the final week of STARR testing, May 7th through May 9th, all students will return to their original advisory classes for the final two weeks before finals.

One concern among freshmen students is checking their grades.

“I get my grades from my advisory teacher because I don’t have Gradespeed,” freshmen Johnathan Miranda said. “Now, I will have to ask my teachers individually for my grades.”

The faculty wants to make it clear that every student has access to Gradespeed and should be using it.

“Students without Gradespeed need to get it,” Girard said.

One of the factors the Campus Leadership team struggled with was the fact that upperclassmen were now being taken away from the teacher they have been with for the past two or three years.

“It was unfortunate,” Bacom said. “We struggled with that. It was a main concern but if the students that need help aren’t getting it, we struggle as a campus.”

Instructional lead teacher Nancy York has some insightful words about the change.

“People do not like change, it is human nature,” York said. “But change can be dynamic.”

*Editors note: In the print edition of the Eagle’s Eye Issue #4 dated February 11, 2013 in the story on the front page “Advisory classes face change” on the inside jump page 4, the information graphic associated with the story the Biology scores for last spring were incorrect. The number printed was 44% but the actual passing rate for students that year was 85%, according to the Akins High School administration. The retake numbers for Biology were correct at 44%. All other data was correct. Information for that graphic was provided by the Akins High School Administration. The Eagle’s Eye editorial staff of the newspaper apologizes for the error. It was a typo and it was never their intentions to discredit or discount efforts of that department.