Great Bend High School wants its students to be successful.
And to prove it, the administration and staff is offering one more way for that to happen.
The Panther Enrichment Program started this week as a way to help all students succeed at their highest level, not just those who may be struggling.
“We hope to help students achieve,” said John Popp, GBHS assistant principal. “Whether that is from an F to a D or an A to an A+, we want to provide the support to help them improve.”
Popp said many schools have programs to help students with homework, but PEP is designed to do more than just offer help with assignments.
“We have students who struggle with doing homework, studying for tests, conducting research, writing papers or completing projects,” Popp said. “We have discussed tutoring before and after school before, but just have not been able to get it going.”
He said that teachers are always in their rooms before and after school to help, “but students really don’t take advantage of that opportunity like we would hope. We wanted to try a different approach to help students be successful. We came up with the basic plan and started brainstorming names. PEP just kind of fell out.”
He acknowledged that there will be students who attend because they want to and there will be some who are assigned to come, based on what their parents and teachers agree will help them most.
“We want to be very careful to make this an opportunity to help and not a form of punishment,” he stressed. “We know that students who experience success in the classroom cause fewer problems and enjoy school more. We hope to help them experience this success.”
About 20 different teachers will be involved at different times covering subjects like English, math, science, social studies and others.
“The Panther Enrichment Program has the potential to help students who want to become successful in school, Popp said. “I truly believe that all of our students want to do well in school. We just have to keep finding new ways to provide them the support they need to be successful.
“What better way to provide that support than with the teachers who teach the concepts?” he said. “My hope is that students will take advantage of it and that in a few weeks we will have to get more teachers to help with it to meet all the students who want the help.”
PEP will be offered in the GBHS library before school from 7:30-8 a.m. and after school from 3:15-4:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday.