| News
& Views
- Dec, 1992 Issue |
The Fenster School Of Southern
Arizona
Mary Jo Flip, Director of Admissions
502-749-3340
Tucson, Arizona
(The
following is a description of Fenster's new emphasis, starting about
the summer of 1991 when new headmaster Don Saffer came on board.)
"...we identified that niche
to be a COLLEGE CAPABLE UNDERACHIEVER WHO MAY NEED SOME SPECIAL HELP.
HELP was defined as a student who academically may be behind due to
lack of attendance/motivation/performance; a student who may have a
learning disability and need special help in some areas; a student who
lacks self discipline, study skills and motivation; and a student who
can benefit from individual attention available in smaller classes of
10-12 students. To meet the needs of these students teachers received
in-service training on individualizing instruction in the classroom.
A school psychologist was hired to provide academic assistance to students
who needed it. HELP also included allowing a student who may have struggled
with adolescent issues to enroll. Again, the day-to-day monitoring provides
accountability and structure for them. Higher risk students may be asked
to see the school psychologist or an off-campus professional on a regular
basis, leave extra funds for homestay suspensions and tutoring if necessary,
and be drug tested on a regular basis at the parents expense if there
has been a history of substance abuse in the past. Fenster School is
a great place for some kids. For the student coming from a highly structured
therapeutic school or program it can be a good stepping stone to back
home. For the student who needs a change of environment to be successful
it can work. For the student who needs a smaller school to gain confidence
and build self-esteem then this can be the right school. Underachievers
represent about 30% of the kids Fenster enrolls. Another third are international.
The balance represents kids whose families are out of the country, who
have a difficulty in the home or whose parents are absent or deceased,
or kids and parents who found the alternative program offered by Fenster
attractive."
Copyright
© 1992, Woodbury Reports, Inc. (This article may be reproduced without
prior approval if the copyright notice and proper publication and author
attribution accompanies the copy.) |
