Back-to-school: Rebounding grades, scholars, mentors and programs

Our PEAK scholars are tremendously excited to be back in school on a full-time, regular schedule - and their grades show it!

Most upperclassmen are currently pulling “A” and “B” grades - including many who’d struggled to maintain a “C” average in years past, especially during the pandemic.

This Fall’s return to a regular school schedule showed scholars’ new maturity and renewed energy after nearly 18 months of the pandemic and its remote- and hybrid-learning cycles. For the 2021-’22 school year, everyone was excited to be together again at Holy Trinity - but no one predicted how many PEAK scholars would embrace every opportunity to learn, including spending time with teachers after school and relying on other support services.

“With the older students especially you can see in their approach and attitudes that they’ve matured a lot over the last year,” said PEAK Academic Adviser and Holy Trinity Language Department Chair Amilcar Morales. “The school year started out incredibly well for the upperclassmen - the juniors and seniors came in and got right to work.”

The scholars’ achievements are especially remarkable given their own personal challenges combined with the challenges of life during a pandemic and the struggle to maintain learning and socialization during shutdown - something experts note that students everywhere have experienced.

That took a decided toll on the freshmen especially. Because they missed the in-person, developmental experiences of their last year of eighth grade or middle school, the freshman scholars didn’t get the natural socialization they would otherwise have had during the previous year. "You can see the impact of remote learning on them,” Mr. Morales said. “But because they’re at a smaller school at Holy Trinity and part of PEAK, we’re making sure they’re getting the advantage of individualized attention.”

PEAK freshmen this year are also learning executive-functioning skills after school with Mr. Morales to ease their way into high school life. This has helped them discover their ability to self-advocate when they need help, an important tool for their advancement.