This week, Eastchester High School launched a new initiative aimed at helping students develop techniques and strategies for academic success.
Over the next few weeks, all ninth and 10th graders will be taking part in the EHS Study Skills Workshop, a program that focuses on several components of successful scholarship, including—but not limited to—organization, time management, and note taking.
The series, made possible through a partnership with the EHS Parent Teacher Association, is being run by Jump Start Tutoring. It will consist of three 40-minute sessions scheduled during students’ English periods. EHS Principal Dr. Jeff Capuano said that the initiative is a vital one, given concerns about how two years of COVID-19 disruptions may have affected student learning.
“Many students, upon entering high school, don’t have the skills required to succeed at the highest level,” said Dr. Capuano. “Our goal, in conjunction with the PTA, was to explicitly give our ninth and 10th graders an opportunity to learn study skills that will help them succeed in any academic setting and in life.”
The instruction topics in the course vary dramatically, presenting students with good habits and best practices that will aid them on their academic journeys. In addition to tips on how to improve vocabulary and memory recall, Jump Start also focuses on physical and mental health, and provides advice on how best to advocate for oneself in school.
EHS PTA President Tina Fernandez said that changing educational models during COVID-19 conspired to limit students’ ability to hone the traditional skills necessary for high school academics. Those concerns, she added, were nearly universal among parents.
“Everything changed so quickly, and there was the most incredible learning curve ever when it came to learning how to adapt to these new models,” she said. “Some of our children struggled with study skills to begin with, so we decided to focus our attention on this area.”
Fernandez noted that the initial plan was for the EHS PTA to fund Study Skills courses on the weekends, but that the information presented in these sessions is so critical, it was important to reach every student by offering the classes during normal school hours.
“We’re so fortunate to have a great relationship with Dr. Capuano,” she said. “So when we floated this idea and gave him our reasoning behind it, he took the idea to the teachers and worked through the departments to be able to find the time to offer these classes.”
Ultimately, Fernandez added, these classes are the byproduct of educators and parents striving to do right by the students of Eastchester.
“Our mission is to keep what is in the best interests of the children at the forefront of our minds,” she said. “Teachers and parents are a team and we need to work together and find ways we can support what is going on in the schools.”
EHS PTA 