Cairo freshmen get a glimpse of high school

Published 5:15 pm Thursday, August 1, 2019

CAIRO — Three hundred incoming freshmen explored the hallways of Cairo High School Thursday morning in preparation for their next four years of education.

The Freshman Walkabout is an event designed to give new students the chance to familiarize themselves with the school, and members of the CHS ROTC helped guide the ninth graders to their new classrooms.

Students also had the chance to learn what’s going to be expected of them now that they’re in high school.

“The bar is definitely raised,” said Andrew Jones, principal of the Ninth Grade Academy. “We’re trying to prepare them for the real world.”

In high school the expectations are higher and the classes are tougher, and Jones said it can mark a pivotal make-or-break point in a student’s development.

“For a lot of students, when they fall behind in the ninth grade, they seem to never catch up,” Jones said.

For one, colleges start paying closer attention to grades once a student enters high school, and some employers keep an eye on academic achievements as well.

The key is for students to focus their priorities on investing into their futures.

Plenty of students enter high school looking to make friends. Jones said he doesn’t have a problem with that, but that it should never get in the way of academics.

“You’ll be able to socialize forever, but high school is a one-time thing,” Jones said. “It’s not like you’ll have an opportunity to come back to high school again.”

To help keep students focused, the academy provides a “road map” for everyone to follow.

High school isn’t like middle school where students simply pass or fail a grade. Instead, students need to acquire 28 credits in order to advance, and the academy makes sure that everyone is on a path to meet those credit requirements.

The academy also acts as a “safety net,” and guidance counselors will work with students to help identify weak spots, a common one being poor study habits.

When a student is in danger of falling behind, Jones and the academy will step in to help them develop the necessary skills to keep up.

“He is specifically put here to help our ninth graders be successful,” said CHS Principal Chris Lokey.

The incoming freshman class consists of 369 students, and overall enrollment at CHS is more than 1,300, up from 1,266 last year.