Many PV students were excited to hear that they’d get to take unique classes during Pascack Period and chattered excitedly about the various options.

But not freshmen.

Ninth-graders this year are locked into a Freshman Seminar class during the Pascack Period. Reaction to this so far from the freshmen has been largely negative, and while a few students feel that Freshman Seminar is fine as is, many more are eager for change.

Dr. Barry Bachenheimer, the district’s Supervisor of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, will be a running a meeting with the freshman seminar facilitators today during lunch to assess how the program has progressed so far. The Freshman Council has been invited to provide feedback.

“We’ll be presenting the thoughts of the freshman class,” said Jerry Madden, a member of the freshman council.“We can’t get rid of [Freshman Seminar]. We know that. We want to change the curriculum and make it more practical, learn more about technology or careers.

“We’re not really learning what they said we would,” Madden added. “The curriculum doesn’t seem to be unified. I haven’t ever learned the same thing as my friends.”

Many freshmen feel that freshmen seminar does not engage students, nor does it accommodate what students may want to do during Pascack Period. There are many who would appreciate time to complete assignments. Of the 122 freshmen who responded to a recent Smoke Signal survey, 77 percent feel that the class is not helpful and that change in the program is necessary.

“The original intention of the class was to give students a solid foundation for high school,” Bachenheimer said. “We want to know if the original intent was met and, if not, what we need to adjust to meet that goal.”

Many freshmen surveyed commented that they already knew the majority of the material covered in the seminar so far and that topics are repetitive. Many also cited a lack of student engagement in their seminar sessions. In fact, when asked to rate student engagement in the seminar on a 1 through 5 scale, only a combined 12 percent chose either of the top two ratings.

While some would suggest getting rid of the program entirely, some feel the seminar should only run for only half the block period rather than the full 88 minutes.

“I’ve heard that as well,” Bachenheimer said. “That’s something we’ll be discussing [today].”

For now, the plan is to continue Freshman Seminar for the rest of the year with possible improvements based on feedback provided at today’s meeting.

“We want to be flexible,” Bachenheimer said. “It might be difficult [to make significant changes] since we’re midway through the year.”