Information about Lassiter High: lassiterhigh.org or 678-494-7863.
Not long after arriving at Lassiter High in Cobb County as a first-time administrator, Ashlynn Campbell was asked to devise a way to reach out to students who might have been overlooked in a school noted for its stellar academic track record.
“Lassiter is a high-achieving school with very strong Advanced Placement courses, good SAT scores and very involved parents,” said Campbell. “But there was the perception that we only served and supported those high-achieving students. So I looked for a way to help those who aren’t strictly AP and to challenge the AP students as well.”
Campbell’s brainstorming created Academic Support and Enrichment that just ended its sixth year. From the beginning, she elicited suggestions and ideas from the parents, students and teachers, and the result was a program that began as a way to offer students tutoring during the school day.
“Our students are very involved in athletics, fine arts, jobs and clubs, so to get them here before or after school for tutoring was hard,” said Campbell. “So we designed a schedule with an extra 30 minutes between the first and second periods, three days a week. Every student goes to this class, but they don’t get a grade; it’s strictly for enrichment or support. It freaks everyone out at first that there’s no grade, no conduct mark, but it also frees them up to work, learn and ask questions.”
Students have a choice of activities, from getting extra help with math or science homework to taking a SAT prep session. Over the years, it’s evolved to include personal enrichment opportunities, such as leadership workshops, as well. Everyone, from counselors and teachers to each of the 2,200 students, takes part.
While the program has gone far to enhance student skills, it may have made the biggest impact among the 200 special education students on campus. Two years ago, special education teacher Jane Martin encouraged some of the school’s peer mentors to spend their unscheduled period interacting with her students.
“Kids who could have been in an enrichment class elected to come to PE with my students where they play adaptive basketball, toss a ball to someone in a wheelchair or encourage someone to shoot baskets,” she said. “They willingly give of themselves, despite having plenty to do. It’s opened new socialization opportunities for my students, and it’s developed relationships they wouldn’t have had.”
Those relationships have even grown beyond the school grounds, Martin said. “My students have not only developed friendships with peers who speak to them in the hallway and the cafeteria, but who also take them to places such as the zoo or a school dance.”
Recent graduate Matt Norton and his friends ended the school year by taking one of their special ed buddies out for a night of bowling.
“Instead of study hall three days a week, I volunteered to go to the gym and play basketball or kick a soccer ball with these students,” he said. “I thought it would be a good way for me to give back. In the process, we connected and built good relationships.”
For Campbell, those connections among members of the entire student body have gone beyond the objectives she set out.
“It’s been fun and very satisfying to watch how it’s evolved and how the program continues to grow and support our students,” she said.
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