The threat of Saturday school was apparently successful in helping Knox Middle School students improve failing grades. The number of students with at least one failing grade dropped by nearly three-quarters in a one-week period thanks to the program, according to Principal Jake Skelly.
He told the school board last week that the first Saturday school session was held on November 10. He said that 180 students had been notified the previous Monday that they had one or more failing grades and that they’d have to attend Saturday school, if they didn’t improve them by the end of the week. By that Friday, more than half of them had all passing grades.
Skelly said 59 middle school students ended up attending Saturday school, with 46 still having a failing grade after it was over. He acknowledged that the school still has a long way to go, but he felt the first Saturday school was a step in the right direction.
