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Norwood students say Freshman Academy eased transition but want help with time management
Summary
Student Advisory Council survey presented to the Norwood School Committee showed freshmen feel more confident entering high school but reported increased stress around time management and heightened interest in future planning; committee asked staff to gather teacher and parent perceptions for comparison.
Students in Norwood’s Student Advisory Council told the school committee Wednesday that the district’s Freshman Academy has helped many ninth graders transition to high school, but students still report stress from heavier workloads and a need for support with planning for the future.
“Overall, freshmen do think that the Freshman Academy is beneficial,” Student Advisory Council presenter Yasha said, summarizing a cohort survey of last year’s eighth graders who are now ninth graders in the academy. The council reported a rise in students asking for more support with future planning (from roughly 45% to about 61%) and a nearly doubled share reporting time-management and responsibility as their top stressor (from about 23.5% to 44%).
The presentation noted that having a consistent team of teachers and classmates was named the single most beneficial structural feature of the first-year academy; relationships with counselors and extracurricular involvement also scored highly.
A parent who spoke during the meeting praised the program’s leadership and singled out Assistant Principal Tony Friuli for his work with ninth graders, saying the academy’s structure has helped students’ executive-function skills. Committee members asked staff to collect teacher and parent perception data to compare with student self-reports, and the Student Advisory Council discussed sharing summarized data with teacher teams.
Committee members noted that the Student Opportunity Act and related supports remain part of the district’s broader planning; staff said they will continue to refine support systems to emphasize workload and transition planning.
Next steps included a planned follow-up presentation to the committee and discussions about adding parent-survey items and sharing student findings with teachers at team meetings.
