A big high school made smaller: when their new school opened in 2001, educators realized that in order to make sure no students fell through the cracks, they would have to make the big, crowded high school seem small.

As I stand on the blacktop and look at the basketball hoops that share space with 16 portable classrooms, I realize that overcrowding does not exist only in old, urban schools. My school, located in development-crazy Orange County, is barely four years old.

When Tesoro High School opened in fall 2001, we excitedly welcomed our first students, 992 ninth- and tenth-grade students. We had a few classrooms, an administrative office and chain link fencing separating us from the construction site that was to be the rest of our campus. We were a cozy group; we felt connected. We held PE classes in the parking lot, which had plenty of room because few students were old enough to drive.

Now, the staff lot fills daily, and the student parking lot comes nowhere close to holding the cars of all the student drivers. In June 2004 we held our first graduation, for 395 seniors. We returned in August to welcome our current enrollment of 2,909 students. The hallways are jammed during passing periods, and lunch and bathroom lines are long.

As we met in 2001 to plan our new school, we developed a shared vision: to have no student fall through the cracks. We were told that our school would grow, although I don't think that anyone realized it would grow so big so quickly. To keep sight of our vision, we would have to do something to make a big school seem small. Given that charge, we developed our Tutorial and Advisement programs and built them into our schedule from the beginning. Last year, we added our Ignite mentoring program for freshmen.

Tutorial

A required part of the instructional program, Tutorial meets for all students three days a week, immediately following the first block period of the day. During these 40 minutes of structured time, students can meet individually with teachers, make up quizzes, work cooperatively with other students, complete homework or simply read quietly.

Our campus is quiet during Tutorial. Every student must be in a classroom when the tardy bell rings. Students sign into a tutorial class, and teachers keep attendance records. We don't allow hall passes during Tutorial. Once students are in a class, they stay there throughout the period. Students may choose the Tutorial they wish to attend; however, we encourage them to choose classes in which they may be struggling.

Most teachers allow no more than 30 students in their classroom, and they give priority to their current students who have asked to meet with them. Sometimes teachers will designate a particular Tutorial period as the time to make up a specific class activity. Often, teachers will hold review sessions for major tests during Tutorial. With Tutorial, teachers can give students individual help and often enjoy a duty-free lunch period.

Advisement

Advisement is at the core of our efforts to make a big school seem small. Advisement provides students a venue to develop strong and secure relationships with each other and with a caring adult in a small-group setting. Every certificated staff member, including administrators, has 25-28 advisement students. The students are randomly assigned by grade level, and the same group of students meets with the same teacher throughout their stay at Tesoro High School.

Freshmen have Advisement every Thursday after the first block period of the day. Other grades have Advisement every other Thursday, alternating with Tutorial. Our school counselor and a small group of teachers developed Advisement topics and activities for each grade level. For example, freshmen topics include surviving in high school, respecting one another, bullying and resolving conflicts and academic integrity. Topics for sophomores and juniors include character counts and summer job how-to's. For seniors, much of Advisement focuses on the college application process.

Every six weeks, corresponding with our progress reporting periods, Advisement teachers hold individual grade conferences with students. We offer practical suggestions and encouragement for students who are struggling, and individual praise to students who are doing well. We strive to communicate to each student that at least one adult on campus notices and cares how the student is doing.

Ignite mentoring program

Our Ignite mentoring program connects each freshman student with a junior or senior mentor. As developed by Performance Dynamics, (www.performancedynamics.net) the Ignite program provides leadership opportunities for about 200 student mentors who want to help our 803 freshmen successfully transition to high school. The program has two specific goals for freshmen: to increase their involvement in high school, and to reduce the number of F's.

Led by two faculty advisers, the Ignite program has a tiered structure and works in conjunction with our Advisement program. Two student lead executive mentors oversee 28 executive mentors, who watch over the 162 other mentors. Each executive mentor oversees a freshman Advisement class and the five or six mentors who are assigned to freshmen in the class. Executive mentors also belong to various Ignite committees to plan activities, provide information and raise funds for the program.

Training for mentors

Ignite mentors attend a training session in the summer, shortly before school begins. They receive additional trainings throughout the year. Generally, a faculty adviser trains the executive mentors who, in turn, model activities and train the mentors in the Advisement activities they will lead for the freshmen.

Mentors meet their mentees just before school starts by telephoning them and inviting them to freshman orientation and a special tour of the school. Freshmen receive their class schedules during the orientation, and their mentors show them the location of their classes. Mentors provide practical "Tesoro survival tips" from a student perspective, and they give new freshmen a sense of belonging.

Eight times during the year, primarily during first semester, mentors meet with their mentees during Advisement. They have activities to help freshmen face high school challenges successfully, resolve conflicts, maintain academic integrity and develop mutual respect. They invite mentees to football games and other school activities. Often, mentors provide peer tutoring, and executive mentors talk to freshmen about grades.

Juniors and seniors who apply to become Ignite mentors must demonstrate good grades, good behavior, explain why they want to be mentors and obtain teacher recommendations.

Making high school less scary 

One only has to look at the massive new housing developments in our area to realize that our once-small school is going to continue to get bigger. While we can't turn students away or expand the hallways, we can take steps to make our big school seem smaller. Programs like Tutorial and Advisement create connections between individual students and teachers--connections that are difficult to make and maintain in large classes. Peer mentoring programs like Ignite make high school seem less scary for freshmen and give older students the opportunity to develop leadership skills while making a difference for others.

Sharon Levin is assistant principal of Tesoro High School in the Capistrano Unified School District. She was a member of the Planning Team for Tesoro High School and served as English department chair in the school's first year. She was also named the district's 2002 High School Teacher of the Year.