By Kathi Stearns, Staff Writer

ATLANTA--The students who came to St. Pius High School for a day of in-service study March 17 were somewhat atypical.

Armed with notebooks and an eagerness to learn they were actually faculty members at Pacelli Catholic High School in Columbus.

Pacelli faculty came to Atlanta to learn about a level of instruction called “college preparatory two.”

St. Pius placed students in different levels depending upon their aptitude for and performance in the various disciplines, according to Frank Moore, dean of studies. Utilizing the secondary school testing program, counselor and teacher recommendations and parental input, students are placed in that course level which takes into consideration the academic skills, aspirations, talents and emotional maturity of each student as he tackles course objectives and goals.

St. Pius offers two levels of college preparatory instruction in addition to its honors courses. The second level helps students improve their thinking skills while they develop their individual organizational and study skills.

“Leveling allows our students to cover the same material in a different way or over a longer time period with the achievement of the same end result,” said Betsy Smith, moderator of the learning lab at St. Pius.

“We came to learn how they could teach college preparatory classes without watering anything down,” said Cynthia Childress, guidance counselor at Pacelli High School. “They simply utilize smaller classes and concentrate specifically on the different learning styles of each student.

College preparatory classes are taught in religion, English, social studies, math, science and foreign languages. “I don’t know of any other schools in the area that have such a unique and extensive program intended to meet the needs of all their students,” Mrs. Childress said.

The Pacelli School is hoping to implement the college preparatory classes during the 1995-96 academic year. “We want to be able to implement such classes for math, English and Spanish. Our first goal is to get our teachers committed to and understanding of the program.”

“We were pleased...to give them a closer look at St. Pius’ facilities and programs, especially our academic program,” said Donald Sasso, principal of the Atlanta high school. “it is a wonderful affirmation of our program and faculty.”

During 1990 Pacelli School faculty came to St. Pius to observe the school’s learning lab program which provides assistance to students who have special educational needs. About 70 students in grades nine through 12, or seven percent of the student body, spend one period per day working with one of the two full-time and one part-time specialists in the area of learning disabilities.

In order to be scheduled for a learning lab period, a student must have a diagnosed learning difference, such as dyslexia or attention deficit disorder. Based on the results of psychometric testing, an individual program of strategies is drawn up to meet the needs of each student. During the learning lab class teachers work on strengthening the student’s area of weakness, using each student’s core curriculum courses as a basis for implementing strategies for success.

“Most schools don’t have a program which addresses the individual strengths and weaknesses of their students,” said Mrs. Smith. “Our program allows a child with a specific weakness to receive a Catholic education in a mainstream environment. If we don’t accept these students, they don’t have another choice for receiving a Catholic education in this area.”

The goal of the program, which is to give each student what he needs to succeed without support systems, is achieved to the point that only 10 percent of the students who enter the program as freshmen schedule a learning lab class as seniors, the dean of studies said.

The Pacelli School implemented the learning lab program during the 1990-91 academic year. At present approximately 20 students are involved in the Pacelli School learning lab.

“We’ve noticed a tremendous difference in the attitude of the students who are involved in the program,” said Mrs. Childress. “A better attitude equates to better grades and better self-esteem.”

Both high schools are college preparatory high schools and pride themselves on the fact that over 95 percent of the students from Pacelli and 98 percent of the graduates from St. Pius go on to college.