FAQ

This page will answer questions commonly asked by students and parents.
  1. What is the YES Class?
  2. How is the YES class different than the rest of the 8th grade?



What is the YES Class?

YES Program                
Participating Schools Agree to the following:
• Release time to provide the teacher with staff
development opportunities
• A classroom – the students stay in same room (or two) all
day except for PE or elective.
• Careful placement of at-risk students
• Constant monitoring and support to ensure program success
Other:
• Start the school year with at least 12 students and plan
to go to 15 before end of September, if not before.
• Keep this class regular Ed with the exception of “Speech
Only,” “Monitoring Only,” or “Consult Only” only if they are NOT
more than two grade levels below. If they are two grade levels
below, they need Special Education.

Student Eligibility
• for students who want to succeed in school but have
failed LEAP or at least one year, and have met four (4) of the
following criteria
o Scored at or below Approaching Basic in ELA or Math on
previous year’s iLEAP (if available) (If no scores are available,
use teacher recommendation.)
o Has received failing grades in school
o Is unable to complete assignments
o Is older than the other students
o Has a poor attendance record
o Has had little or no success with previous interventions
Program Model
• Primary goal is to keep students in school so that they
can pursue a REGULAR high school diploma
o Classrooms are either self-contained or split schedule
involving 2 teachers.*
o The teacher/pupil ratio is 1:15.
o Emphasis is placed on Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic.
o Life-long learning is promoted through career and goal
setting activities.
o Cooperative learning is used to develop student
responsibility.
o Curriculum is integrated with emphasis on applied
learning tasks.
o Students learn HOW TO LEARN.
o A constant priority is self-esteem building with focus on
social skills.
o Authentic assessment techniques are used.
o This program is an “alternative within regular education”
which is approved by BESE, following Bulletin 741 regulations for
alternative programs.
o The program is held on regular school campus.
Keys to Success
o A caring, flexible, creative elementary teacher teaches
the students.
o Administrators and faculty give YES 100% of their support.
o The student CHOOSES to make a change.
o Parental consent and involvement are priorities.
o Support services from counselor are available.
o A fundamental belief is held by everyone concerned that
all children in the program can and will learn.
o Teacher is able to make adjustments in time and physical
arrangement of classroom.
o High interest materials and technology are used.
o Set criteria are used for entrance and exit from the
program.
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How is the YES class different than the rest of the 8th grade?

The YES class does the same 8th grade curriculum as the rest of 
the 8th graders at Clearwood and in St. Tammany Parish. The only
difference is they remain with the same teacher throughout the
day. The students are with a smaller numbers class which gives
the teacher more time to work on an individual basis when a child
needs more help and instruction. Students in the YES class are
also able to start on remediation that helps prepare them for
LEAP testing in the spring.
I am also able to incorporate Study Skills that helps
students prepare for their high school careers.
The ASCEND math program is used during the study skills hour
to remediate students in math to plug in areas of math that
students may have missed in previous years.
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