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Cassi McFerren

Foxfire High School is an alternative school in Zanesville, Ohio. Our school is often the "last chance" for our students to succeed in earning a high school diploma. After talking with several students, many of them have struggled in school in the past because they didn't get enough one-on-one or small group attention. At Foxfire, we have small classes, and have the ability to help our students succeed in ways they didn't realize were possible. At the beginning of the school year, most of my students hated to read. I had a few tell me that they would never pick up and book. As a group, we read Uglies by Scott Westerfield. I have never had so much enthusiasm (from boys and girls!) The same kids that told me they hated to read, couldn't wait to get to the next chapter. They often asked if we could just read instead of doing Social Studies. It sparked my hunt for a large classroom library since we do not have a school library. As a newer teacher, with not many resources available to me, I started gathering books from garage sales, the Goodwill, and through donations at Half Price Books. I have gotten a great collection together, but want to have a large enough variety, that there will be something for everyone to be interested in. I have readers that range from the 2nd grade reading level to right on grade level. With such a small amount of resources and paying for things mostly out of pocket, I'd love to gain more materials to excite my students. I have done several interest inventories to see what they would be interested in, and surprisingly, many of them wanted "books based on true stories." My students are becoming excited about their grades and taking pride in their work. One student at the beginning of the year told me, "I never have gotten good grades. I like to get C's and D's." This same student approached me to see if he could do any extra work to bring his grade up to an "A." I always grade their assessments the same day (if it is possible) so they can get instant feed back (plus I love to see the "cha-ching" when they do awesome!) I am struggling for enough resources to hit all of the different levels and learning styles of my students, since there is such a wide range. They are begging for more hands-on activities and I would love to take them on a field-trip as I have them for Language Arts and Social Studies. Our students may have fallen through the cracks in their previous school, and I strive to make their learning experience at Foxfire a good one! They are encouraged to succeed, and if I feel they can do better because they are having a bad day, they get that opportunity. I am proud of the change I have seen so far, and I know that I could do even more with the help of outside resources. Anything that could be done to help broaden the learning experience for my students would be appreciated so much!