Starting this year, the freshman experience will begin to take a new and enhanced route to set up more equitable opportunities for all students to succeed. With curriculum adjustments in science, math, and English, as well as new course requirements, there are many changes in class offerings for this year’s incoming ninth graders.
One of the major changes taking place in the curriculum has to do with the science progression. Starting this year, all freshmen will take physics as their first science course at South.
In an interview last spring, South chemistry teacher Sarah Hocken explained how everyone taking physics freshman year will lead to more consistency with what students have learned when they progress into biology and other science courses after ninth grade.
For Classic South students, sophomores will take biology, and juniors will take chemistry or IB Chemistry I. For Classic South students taking standard level chemistry, senior year will offer more flexibility and the opportunity to take one or more upper-level science courses. Students who choose to take IB Chemistry I will continue their progression and take IB Chemistry II during their senior year. The IB Chemistry sequence will replace AP Chemistry for all students, not just those in IHS.
IHS students will take chemistry and biology their sophomore year and IB Physics I their junior year. This will lead them to take IB Physics II their senior year.
Another change in ninth grade course offerings is the modified math progression.
“Almost all students coming into high school will be taking the [standard] algebra course,” South math teacher Krin Hunt said in an interview last spring. Students who took accelerated math in middle school will be able to take advanced math courses, but they will be assessed at the beginning of the year to ensure proper placement.
Sophomores will then take Geometry and Statistics, and juniors, with one mandatory math credit left, can choose from a variety of math courses to best suit their interests. IHS students will continue to take IB Math junior year, and if students choose to take math senior year, Pre-Calculus and AP Calculus will be available to them.
As part of the freshman experience, all classic students will take a Humanities Block, which incorporates Health, English Language Arts, and Social Studies in a cohort system to fulfill Oregon’s social and emotional learning standards, as well as to create collaboration across numerous classes. IHS students will take year-long courses in Global Literature, Global Geography, and Global Health. These three courses have not changed from previous years, but the format of Honors English 9 has been adjusted to embed it into standard classes and to make it accessible to more students.
Freshmen in the classic high school curriculum will be the first to experience this embedded honors English system. In years prior, Honors English 9 and 10 were offered as separate classes from English 9 and 10. Students would forecast in advance for their preferences.
With the new system, all freshmen will be in the same English classes. The 2024-25 curriculum states that the “honors designation option will be embedded into this course and appear on the transcript.”
“Embedding honors means anyone can take it,” Scott Pierce, former Ninth Grade Transition Coordinator, said in a previous interview with The Axe.
South English teacher Allison Dodd will be teaching English 9, among other classes this year, and spoke about how the embedded honors option will function. She explained that students who choose to take the honors strand will complete a capstone project at the end of the year to earn the designation.
Dodd will also be one of the teachers teaching the AXE class this year, a brand-new requirement for freshmen. AXE, which stands for Academic eXcellence Essentials, helps freshmen learn “how to high school,” Pierce said.
This course is primarily aimed at cultivating skills that are essential for academic success and the transition to high school. It integrates topics covered in AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), such as study skills, social-emotional learning, and self-awareness.
Freshmen not enrolled in IHS or AVID will take AXE, which will have AVID strategies and resources that “all 9th graders can access,” Dodd explained in an interview last spring.
The transition from middle school to high school is complex, with feelings of excitement, but also of apprehension. Knowing what resources are available can help students be more confident through this adjustment.
“Getting to know the staff will invariably help you learn how to self-advocate, help you feel more connected, and will also make your time here so much more valuable,” new Ninth Grade Transition Counselor Brittany Beebe said. “I hope that my role will help students feel more supported and integrated here at South.”
Whether students need more support with grades, asking for help, staying engaged in classes, or keeping track of assignments, Beebe will be a helpful resource in her new role at South this year.
Appointments to meet with Beebe can be scheduled on the Counseling page of the South website. Students are also encouraged to reach out in person and through email.
Article by Jada Jones