Freshman Academy Gives Students 'Trial Run'

Going from a small junior high school to a large high school can be intimidating for students.

To make that transition easier, McDonald County High School offers Freshman Academy.

Each year, before school starts in August, freshmen are invited to attend the academy, which is a one-day event intended to familiarize them with the building, their teachers and their classes. This year's academy took place on Tuesday.

"We've got kids coming in from six junior highs. Rather than come up here and be one of 1,150, we can give them a little more attention," Assistant Principal Jeff Wilkie said. "This makes it a little less intimidating. It's just to get some familiarity with the teachers, the system, how we do things."

He said 185 out of 270 freshmen attended the academy, which serves as a trial run for the real school day.

"Two-thirds of our kids will at least have some familiarity with the building and where they're going," he said.

A few freshmen weighed in:

• Shye Hardin of Anderson: "It's pretty good. It's a really good experience for freshmen coming in."

• Mollie Millieson of Anderson: "It's very helpful and it helps us learn what we need to know."

• Jaimie Malone of Anderson: "I like it because now I know where my classes are going to be and now I'm not as nervous about high school anymore."

• Kaitlyn Cosgrove of Anderson: "I think it's fun and a good experience to have."

• Aubrey Forcum of Anderson: "It helps us get high school experience before we actually become high-schoolers."

• Sydnie Sanny of Anderson: "It's a good experience for us to get to know where our classes are."

• Rylee Bradley of Anderson: "I think it's a good program because it helps people not be scared of high school anymore."

• Azlen Smith of Pineville: "I think it's very helpful and it makes me feel more confident."

Math and engineering teacher Kamireon Douglas said the academy alleviates a lot of first-day challenges.

"I think it's a wonderful opportunity for students, for your typical timid freshman, to experience school in a safer setting. It's a good way to connect to teachers and the building itself," he said.

Algebra and geometry teacher Tobey King said a lot of the students at Freshman Academy were completely overwhelmed, even though only freshmen were present on Tuesday.

"A lot of them come from classes of 30 or 60. There's more people than they've seen in their entire class," she said. "The ones that actually show up today do better on the actual school day."

"I think it gets better every year," band director Laurie Kinder-Lang said. "It makes the parents feel more comfortable as well as the kids."