Two-thirds to three-fourths of this year’s freshman class, and about one-half of this year’s sophomore class, know the feeling of being in a ninth grade advisory resource. Freshman Advisory is implemented to help get new students accustomed to DGN.

“We [the school improvement team] just felt that the ninth grade year is the most important year in terms of establishing routines, and we want our freshmen to feel connected to the school and to understand the culture here,” assistant principal for curriculum and instruction Janice Schwarze said.

Three days a week freshman advisory resource runs like an independant study hall. Tuesdays are for informal lessons taught by Positively North Stars (PNS) and Fridays are for getting to know fellow classmates better.

“It’s like an opposite lunch resource. The only big difference is that you have a community of people you get to know,” freshman advisory coordinator Justin Ashton said.

A committee made up of Schwarze, associate principal Kristin Bormann, Ashton and the teachers in charge of PNS decide the topic of the Tuesday lesson. PNS students work together to find the best way to teach the lesson to the students. In addition to leading lessons, PNS students are accessible to the freshman everyday for help on homework or to answer any questions students may have about DGN.

“This year we put more of them [PNS] in each room and we have had meetings with the leaders and the teachers and so I think that has been a great change. They really are taking a lot of responsibility in ninth grade advisory and and I have been hearing good things,” Schwarze said.

This is the second year this program has run, and it will continue in the foreseeable future with little changes to the program.

“We [the administration and teachers] will keep finding ways to tweak it and and make it so that it is helpful and not a hindrance to students, but it seems like most students are walking away with good information,” Ashton said.