Staying on TASC

On Monday, November 7, 2016 Lyme-Old Lyme High School  is proud and extremely excited to announce the opening of THE ACADEMIC SUCCESS CENTER. For the past two months we have been developing and redesigning the former Learning Center into what will now be called THE ACADEMIC SUCCESS CENTER (aka: TASC). Our goal is to create and maintain an educational environment in which students will develop student organizational skills and where we will be able to  provide our student body with targeted Tier 2 interventions when needed using PSAT/ SAT testing data as a primary focus as well as  offer English/ Language Arts and Math tutoring on a drop in and/or scheduled basis.

TASC will now function more like a classroom setting staffed with three tutors: Mr. Popeleski, Mrs. Tarkoff, and Mr. Arcisz.  By working with the tutors in TASC, students will develop the skills needed to not only succeed in their classes but develop techniques that will allow them to become a more independent learner. The TASC team met with a group of students to solicit feedback which was honest and helpful in establishing further guidelines. One of the most significant  requests from students was  the ability for them to earn credit for being assigned to TASC. Students will now be receiving .25 credits per year and up to a .50 credit towards graduation requirements.

So, beginning on Monday new procedures and routines will begin such as:

• Agenda checks to view all short-term and long term assignments
• Daily Tutor check-ins to assess progress and course of action
• Do Now / Do Later plans to prioritize work load

These steps, along with others, are the routines established to assist students in becoming more organized, staying up to date on assignments and helping them prioritize the short term and long term work that needs to be completed. Once students become comfortable with TASC routines and expectations, TASC will open for drop-in purposes on November 28.  The TASC team will continue to meet weekly to analyze student data, review student progress, and reach out to students who need academic support with SAT exam preparations.

I am so excited to get this new program off the ground ... I know that academic success will be the logical result because ...being on task in TASC leads to SUCCESS!