Lynn Hale
Heather Simmons

JASPER, Tenn. — Marion County Schools got an $86,000 grant to support freshman academies and improve graduation rates at its three high schools, officials said.

Ninth-graders face a tough transition when they make the move up from middle school, said Lynn Hale, the system’s graduation interventionist and a counselor at South Pittsburg High School.

“Research has shown that that’s the time that we lose our students,” Ms. Hale said. If incoming freshmen have academic problems, the situation will only get worse if they can’t make the transition smoothly, she said.

“Once they get behind, they have a tendency to check out,” she said.

Marion’s ninth-graders are grouped together and attend classes on a different schedule to limit their contact with upperclassmen. Grant funding will strengthen programs and support for freshman academies at all three county high schools, Ms. Hale said.

The grant will fund a mobile computer lab, writing curriculum, an adviser program and a summer program to help incoming freshmen with math, reading and study skills, Ms. Hale said.

The idea behind the academies is to engage freshmen from the start so they stay in school and graduate, she said. Graduation rates at all three county high schools increased over the last two years to more than 90 percent, though Ms. Hale said she can’t officially attribute that to the academies yet.

The grant is funded by AT&T’s Aspire initiative and is part of $12 million in grants issued this year to help keep students on course to a diploma, according to a company news release.

Joyce Jordy, a freshman at Marion County High, said knowing most of her classmates makes high school a more comfortable atmosphere.

“You’re still stuck with the people you’re used to seeing,” Joyce said.

Without the academy, “it would be harder to, like, get along with the upperclassmen,” she said. “You have to, like, get to know them. You don’t ever have time to, and they don’t get to know you.”

Marion High geography teacher Heather Simmons said her freshman students feel less pressure and are more confident because they aren’t “intimidated” by being around upperclassmen.

“If they’re confident, they’re usually going to have more success in the classroom and get off to a good start in high school,” Ms. Simmons said.

Marion County High’s freshman academy started three years ago and is the system’s oldest. Whitwell High School just launched its academy this year, said Joshua Holtcamp, vice principal and principal of the freshman academy.

Grant funding is important for Whitwell because the school, with fewer than 1,000 students, is ineligible for federal funding for programs such as the freshman academy, Mr. Holtcamp said.

The program already is showing promise before the grant has an impact, he said.

“There’s a lot less discipline problems already and attendance has risen,” he said. “We’re waiting to see test scores maybe in early or late spring.”