ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, September 14, 1996 TAG: 9609160016
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WOODBRIDGE
SOURCE: The Washington Post
Alphonso Roper's first day at Woodbridge High School was like a bad dream. Suddenly he was in a new school three times the size of his old one, and everywhere he looked were masses of strangers.
When he tried to get directions, or asked a basic question in class, upperclassmen made fun of him.
``I've been picked on by everyone,'' the 14-year-old said. ``Every time I do something, they say, `Typical freshman!'''
Every year, ninth-graders like Roper find that going from middle to high school is about as comforting as shock therapy. It is typically the hardest transition of a student's academic career, educators say, as high school freshmen must cope with a more impersonal place, an increased academic load and the pranks and put-downs of older teen-agers.
Many find it too much to handle. In Virginia and Maryland, more than 12 percent of ninth-graders failed the 1994-95 school year and had to repeat their freshman year or make up classes in the summer. It was the highest failure rate of any grade.
At Woodbridge, a 3,060-student school where more than 20 percent of ninth-graders failed last year, officials have resorted to an unusual experiment: All of this year's freshmen must attend an 85-minute orientation class every day for the first semester.
In that course, they'll discuss the stresses of high school life, meet administrators and learn how to improve skills ranging from note-taking to keeping a daily planner.
Several school districts throughout the country have broken up ninth-graders into smaller classes to make the year less intimidating.
Officials at Arlington's Wakefield High School recently put freshmen in a separate part of the building, and Alexandria created a separate school for ninth-graders three years ago.
But Woodbridge is one of the few high schools requiring all freshmen to take a ``how-to-study'' class.
``Those whose study skills weren't as strong were getting left behind,'' said Gail Burda, a Woodbridge teacher who helped put the program together. ``There was a problem, and something needed to be done.''
The new course has its critics, however, who say it is dumbing down the curriculum and taking valuable time away from academic subjects. They also argue that ninth grade is too late for such basic instruction.
``If freshmen are unprepared, why are we doing remedial work in high school? Shouldn't we do these things in middle school to better prepare them for high school?'' asked Linda Lutes, the only Prince William County School Board member to vote against the program.
Some education researchers say it will take approaches like Woodbridge's to make ninth grade less of a sink-or-swim experience.
``They are experiencing dramatic increases in social and academic demands,'' said Melissa Roderick, a University of Chicago assistant professor who studied a group of 27,000 high school freshmen in that city and found that about half of them failed at least one course. ``We'd better start rethinking the system that we've set up that allows so many kids to get lost.''
It isn't just the tests and the earlier homework deadlines that make ninth grade tough. It's also the perennial taunting from older students.
Sophomore Jennifer Chipman, 14, said juniors and seniors last year would threaten to stuff her in a locker or a trash can. Usually she knew they were kidding, she said, but sometimes she wasn't sure.
Once some upperclassmen almost sold her a key to the school's third-floor pool for $10. That was before she found out the school doesn't have a third floor or a pool.
``I felt stupid,'' Chipman said. ``I was afraid of everything.''
For this year's orientation classes, Woodbridge's freshmen have been divided into groups of about 30. In one class last week, Susan Ohle asked how many were scared or nervous about coming to high school after the first two days. Almost everyone's hand went up. She asked why they felt that way.
``It's a new school, and it's so big,'' one boy said.
``And you're just one of the little people,'' said another.
Ohle tried to turn the school's size into an advantage, telling them it would be a chance to meet new people and explore more extracurricular activities.
LENGTH: Medium: 81 linesby CNB