When the sixth-grader picked up his progress report last week, all his marks had come up at least a full letter grade. But here you have 45 minutes to do nothing but your homework. Media assistant Jean Freckelton is the cafe adviser. In large part, the way she interacts with kids has contributed to the success of the cafe. The staff at Navigator developed the Catch-up Cafe as part of its Citizen Improvement Program.
Every student receives a citizenship grade in each class.
The grade is based on 10 criteria, including preparation, cooperation, courtesy, participation and completion of assignments. A student's responsibility, like a citizen's responsibility, is to be informed, be prepared and to participate. Last year, three or four students took advantage of the program during each lunch break. Attendance is so high that we've recruited a student aide from eighth grade at Pathfinder, and we're getting parents to help us out. John M. Galloway Fifth-grader Noah Pelto hits the books over lunch.