More Time for Students
New Mentor-Advisee Period at DTHS
by Jordie Pfeiffer
For the 2008-2009 school year and hopefully many more years to come, Doniphan-Trumbull school has acquired a new Mentor/Advisor Period (MAP). MAP is a school-wide attempt to reach all students’ developing needs. Each student in grades seven through twelve is assigned to a MAP class for 20 minutes each day between first and second period. The MAP group will be led by a faculty member who would lead discussions, give short lessons, facilitate learning and exploring, and counsel students. All curriculums are specially designed for the MAP teachers and very easy to implement with little preparation.
Each week follows a similar schedule, also using this time for activity meetings and college and military representative visits to the school. This minimizes the amount of time normally taken out of other class periods. The weekly schedule will be flexible, also ensuring a balance of structured and un-structured time for each group to utilize in productive ways.
Monday – Lesson / Activity
Tuesday – Lesson / Activity
Wednesday – Reserved time for school meetings and individual mentoring
Thursday – Lesson / Activity – also may be used for individual mentoring if
needed in some situations (Example: Eligibility Issues)
Friday – Academic Advising and Study Time – Check Progress Reports for each
student and create plan to improve classroom performance
Each age group focuses on specific topics as well as school-wide issues and goals. ACE Program objectives will still be addressed at each grade level, especially in grades 9-11. Classes are divided by 7th and 8th graders together, freshmen and sophomores combined, and juniors and seniors separated. Each MAP class level sets different goals that are age appropriate. For example, junior high students are primarily focused on Character Education. This teaches them several ways to become a successful and highly thought of person based on decisions and behaviors they may apply. Freshmen and sophomores on the other hand study leadership and service with which the students learn how to step up and help people in need and take responsibility of a group. Juniors are focused primarily on their future goals, things that they may want to achieve after high school. This includes career interest and skills research, going on one job shadow per semester, and discussions about college entry testing (such as the ACT and SAT). And last but certainly not least, Doniphan-Trumbull’s graduating senior class has objectives of closure and post-secondary school transitions. The seniors utilize MAP period to fill out college applications, write resumes, and set up college visits.
So far the majority of students have had many positive things to say about MAP class and enjoy the small time frame of bonding each morning. “I think that the students and teachers are both really enjoying the MAP period for a multitude of reasons. For one, the state requires us to cover a series of Career Clusters activities and now we don’t have to worry about taking time out of other classes. Also, many of the teachers are allowing students to use it for study time since we have omitted study halls and for all of these reasons the students and faculty are grateful for the addition,” notes high school principal Mr. Ptomey.
