DISCLOSURE: This is an opinion article. Please note that unsigned editorials represent the collective opinion of The Wingspan student news staff and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the adviser or Gretna East High School. Columns represent the opinion of the author alone and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the adviser, the Wingspan staff or Gretna East High School.
The pressure to get assignments in by the due date, earn at least a 70% and avoid having to come in before or after school to work with a teacher is a pain. I, just like most of us students, have lots of things to do, and spending extra time at school isn’t high on my priority list. However, when I take a step back and really look at why we students are forced to do this, I have to admit that I’m grateful for it.
With nearly every classroom having a board littered with names of students who are scheduled to come in and work with a teacher to redo, make up, or complete missing assignments, it really shows how much teachers are doing to help their students. Yes, it feels like they are nagging us and always on our case, but at least they care enough to constantly remind us and force us to get things done.
Because they do this, graduation rates in our district are significantly higher than those of some of our neighboring districts. Additionally, our ACT scores are above the state average.
According to a report by the Nebraska Department of Education, our current seniors had a higher percentage of students who met or exceeded expectations on the ACT in 2023-24 than the state average. In English language arts, 50% met the expectations bar, 5% above the state average; 58% in mathematics, 17% above the state average; and 72% in science while the state average was 49%.
On a similar note, according to Public School Review, a website that offers detailed profiles of public schools across the United States, by compiling and analyzing data from federal and state education agencies, Gretna High, as of the 2021-2022 school year, had a 96% graduation rate while Millard Public Schools had a 90% and Omaha Public Schools had a 71%. The only local district with a higher graduation rate than Gretna Public Schools (GPS) was Elkhorn Public Schools, and that was only by 1%.
Aside from teachers making time for us and caring enough nag us, the district’s accountability policy also contributes to our success. I’ve heard people talking about GPS having a “no-fail”, but that isn’t true. If we had a no-fail policy, we would get 50% on assignments for just putting our names on our papers and turning them in. Our policy, the accountability policy, actually forces us to meet expectations. While redoing assignments is time-consuming and takes some effort, upholding this standard has some positives.
“I think a little piece has to be to shift someone’s mindset from a policy to a philosophy, is to instill in the student and let them know it’s okay to reach out to the teacher and take that initiative,” Shostak said.
In addition to being grateful for the opportunity to rise to the occasion when it comes to our assignments, the fact that there are academic centers for students to go to for help is something most schools don’t offer.
For some students, admitting that they need help, and actually asking for it, can be about as painful as getting a tooth pulled, but the fact that the district has this set up and available for us and that teachers, whether they are ours or not, are there to help us, is the key to making us so successful.
“For the past month, we have been hovering around 30% of students owe at least one assignment,” Assistant Principal Jami Ewer said. “This includes students that are missing work due to absences as well as students who need to redo work.”
Students are expected to complete assignments as soon as possible, which usually results in coming in before or after school to get things done, which is taxing on both teachers and students.
I have heard students complain that they have to go in after school and makeup assignments and how they think it is so stupid that they don’t get enough time in class to just make it up then, but they are not the only ones affected by incomplete assignments.
Teachers have lives, too. I can’t tell you the number of teachers who have come in before school or stayed past the official centers time to work with students. This is not a requirement of their job. They do it out of their desire to help us succeed. They give up time with their families for us. It’s time we appreciate them and how they go above and beyond to help us succeed.
For example, the other day, one of my teachers was explaining how frustrating it can be when he chooses to disrupt his morning schedule and inconvenience his family so he can come in early for his students to make up assignments, only for those students to not show up or be annoyed that they have to be there if they do show up.
This is just one example of how far teachers go to help students be successful, and not every school is exactly like this.
Apart from Gretna High School, other schools in the area don’t offer official centers like ours do. They don’t require students to turn in every single assignment, make sure it meets expectations and continue to redo it until it does. Those students have to arrange their own meetings with their teachers for help; they can’t just show up to a room full of teachers who are waiting to help them after school three days a week. Coming in after school may not work for every student, but having the option readily available is something that sets our district apart and is very helpful.
“They [centers] helped me to get a better understanding of what we were learning in class,” junior Rylee Driskill said.
Students don’t give teachers and administrators enough credit when it comes to the success of students. Many complain when really, they should be grateful for the great opportunities we have in GPS.
