Freshman program BLASTs off

A year-long pilot enrichment and mentoring program was launched Sept 25 to encourage academic and social success for incoming freshmen.

An extension of the one-week summer Blair Leadership Academic Success Training (BLAST) program, BLAST Scholars was initiated this year by coordinator and English teacher Richard Rhodes to help ninth graders better adjust to the transition from middle to high school.

According to senior Jean Li, the student coordinator for BLAST Scholars, one reason for the program was the reported high failure rate of ninth grade students. "We decided we should start a program for those who were at risk of becoming that statistic. We didn't want students to become overwhelmed, which we think is a big reason for that number,” Li explained.

BLAST Scholars is made of Blair upperclassmen who mentor ninth graders towards scholastic success. Leaders hope the relationship will promote both social development and academic achievement.

The BLAST Scholars program consists of thirty mentoring units, each of which includes one junior mentor paired with one freshman scholar and one teacher advisor. The advisor will monitor the progress of each unit and act as a resource when necessary. Li serves as the liaison between mentors and Rhodes.

BLAST Scholars began with Rhodes' interest in helping and encouraging student achievement. "It's to give them a good start, develop good habits and ideas and then see them off [to success],” he explained.

BLAST members will hold one-hour meetings in units every week to discuss the scholars' academic progress. The mentors will meet on a regular basis with the scholars and Rhodes.