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NovaNet helps students salvage credits By SCOTT POWELLLedger Staff Writerspowell@gaffneyledger.com
NovaNet is an online system helping 17 students recover course credits in English and math from June 27-July 22. The cost is $175. The self-paced computer programs were made available to students who failed either math or English, but not both subjects, during the 2004-2005 school year. “The purpose of NovaNet is to recover credit towards graduation, to decrease the number of students being retained in the ninth and tenth grades and to decrease the number of high school dropouts,” Gaffney High Assistant Principal Denise Wooten said. “This is an alternative to summer school. I’m just pleased we are able to help these students stay on grade level.” Gaffney High began looking at NovaNet last year when Wooten attended a conference of NovaNet users in Myrtle Beach. She spoke with computer lab managers and school administrators from several states including California, Washington and North Carolina. “They all seemed very positive about the product,” Wooten said. After Wooten discussed NovaNet with Gaffney High Principal Dr. Quincie Moore, the school spent $20,000 to purchase 10 site licenses, allowing the school to serve a maximum of 10 students. “This was a very deliberate thought process to find yet another way to meet the needs of students and move them to the next grade level,” Moore said. The school considered students for this summer’s NovaNet pilot program who failed English or math classes in the range of 60-69, Moore said. Students who don’t pass English or math are automatically held back rather than advancing to the next grade level with their classmates. Math teacher Karen Denton and English teacher Heather Walker are the school’s NovaNet instructors. Wooten and the teachers visited Byrnes High School in Spartanburg District 5 this year to learn more about how the school uses NovaNet. The 17 Gaffney High students using NovaNet this summer received an incomplete grade from their teachers in English or math this past school year. Those students are using the program in the computer lab to complete their coursework. Math work is done from 810:30 a.m. while English is done from 11 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Students take a pre-test on NovaNet to identify their strengths and weaknesses. “The computer prescribes modules where the student needs instruction,” Wooten said. “After working through the module, the student takes a post-test. If the student fails the post-test, they get more instruction and then take another post-test. The student has to pass the test before moving on to the next module.” All students successfully completing the NovaNet program this summer will receive credit in English or math. The school will explore other future uses for the program such as mid-year remediation for struggling students and helping students returning from long-term absences catch up in a course with their classmates. |
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