Bob Ralston – Ninth Grade Academic Advisor
Educational Philosophy
“Great leaders lead by example. If you want your students to work hard, you better work harder. If you want your students to care for others, you better care for each student. Respect is earned through actions.”
Ninth Grade Academic Department Objectives
Parent Communications
Informing freshman parents of department objectives is vital. We need to ensure that each family understands the commitment and requirement to successfully navigate their student through the rigorous process to graduate and succeed in life.
I believe the toughest job a person will ever have is being a parent. Teach your kids, love your kids and let them grow up. No child is perfect. They will learn through their own journey.
Addressing Challenges to Succeed
Freshman year of high school may be one of the most important transitions in deciding if a student will be able to succeed in higher education. Failure to graduate from high school is strongly tied to ninth grade course failure.
That is why it is critical that we identify our students early who need help in the transition process. At progress report time, we will identify all freshman students who are receiving an F or D grade. We will meet regularly with these students to discuss grades, attendance, discipline, study skills, monitoring work progress and tutoring/Saturday Bridge.
The biggest challenges for ninth graders are increased academic demands and social pressures of fitting into the school.