Various schools around the state and country are seeking effective, innovative ways to improve students’ grades. City High was inspired to take measures of its own, introducing a brand new addition to students’ schedules: Little Hawk Advisory.

“Advisory has probably been the biggest, boldest step [to improve grades] that City High has taken,” City High principal John Bacon said.

Little Hawk Advisory is a 26-minute block of time within students’ schedules that gives them the opportunity to work on homework or receive extra help from teachers. Advisory occurs after fifth period, and is created by taking four minutes off of each class period on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. Principal John Bacon decided to start Advisory after drawing inspiration from schools, such as Cedar Rapids Washington.

“When [the principal of Cedar Rapids Washington High School] told me about their advisory plan, I was very interested in checking that out,” Bacon said. “I took a team of teachers up to the school last year, and we got to watch it happen. We interviewed their teachers and they loved [advisory].”

The implementation of a study block into students’ schedules is currently gaining popularity in schools across the country. These schools, like Cedar Rapids Washington, are seeing tremendous success; results include a decrease in failing grades and higher academic achievement within the student body.

“I think this will potentially make more kids qualify for the honor roll compared to years past,” Bacon said.

Although the majority of students may choose to use Advisory as academic time, they now have the opportunity to further expand their knowledge through enrichment activities.

The enrichment activities are special workshops that will be provided by City High guidance counselors or guest speakers within the community. Topics of interest may include: the arts, test prep, and college admissions. Students can opt to attend a session by obtaining passes, located in the Main Office. The workshops are to be held in Opstad Auditorium or the Little Theater; the majority of the workshops, however, are projected to take place during second trimester. Bacon believes that the enrichment activities could be extremely helpful.

“I am very excited about the idea of enrichment activities that we can incorporate into the advisory block,” Bacon said. “We want to get this off to a good start.”

Danielle Tang ‘17 agrees.

“I think [the enrichment activities] are going to be beneficial. They are optional, so people who want to go see them can go see them, and the people that don’t want to don’t have to use their time,” Tang said. “Students who didn’t have the opportunity to get that sort of experience can now get it, and that’s great.”

Teachers are also seeing firsthand the benefits of advisory.

“I feel a lot of flexibility in terms of being able to meet with students,” Fettweis said. “I feel like I will be able to give a lot more individual attention. I also feel a lot less pressure, as a parent, to meet with a student [in the morning].”

Although Fettweis acknowledges that the shortened class time caused by Advisory can be a difficulty, she remains optimistic.

“Even though I have felt a little rushed in my classes, it’s given me an opportunity to be more creative in how I teach,” Fettweis said. “I think that [the time cut] puts more pressure on Advisory to be good. This needs to be time that we all commit to as academic time.”

Tang has also taken advantage of this added study block.

“Mostly, it’s gone pretty well. I’ve been able to get a lot of homework done. I don’t have to take as much stuff home, and spend time at home [doing homework],” Tang said.

Bacon agrees, and believes that Advisory will benefit students’ grades and workload- no matter their situation.

“I believe that this can benefit every single student in this building. That is the beauty of Advisory,” Bacon said. “Students who are struggling in school can benefit from having one-on-one time with their teacher. I also believe that Advisory can help even the most busy, high-achieving students in this school, and everybody in between.”