‘Panthers First’ project tackles freshman failure rates
Park Rapids Area teachers share a research-based project that they hope will reduce the number of freshmen failing classes.
7:00 am, Apr. 9, 2021
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Teacher Brent Vandal explains the evidence connecting the transition from eighth to ninth grade with high school failure rates during the Park Rapids School Board's April 6 meeting. (Robin Fish/Enterprise)
A group of teachers, some of them doing graduate work, told the Park Rapids School Board on Tuesday, April 6 about their action research project, “Panthers First,” aimed at reducing failure rates among high school freshmen.
Establishing the need
Teacher Brent Vandal showed the school board a chart of the average number of failing students during the first trimester from 2018 to 2020, broken down by grade level. Ninth graders had the most failing grades, while failure rates dropped with each succeeding class.