Academic Resources

Tutoring

MHS offers a peer tutoring program for students who are not earning the grades they would like in one or more of their classes. Counselors work with students, teachers and parents to identify students in need of academic support and arrange tutoring for those students with peers who have been successful in the targeted academic area. Tutoring typically occurs during students’ study hall or flex periods in the MHS Library.

Students who are interested in being involved with the program, either as tutors or tutees should stop by Student Services to pick up the enrollment form. Questions on the tutoring program can be directed towards School Counselors or Mrs. Cordova in the library.

Flex Period

The MHS Flex and Intervention Period is an opportunity for the students of Merrill High School that began in the fall of 2017. The FlexPeriod affords students to have voice and choice in their daily schedules, to personalize their experience, to receive help in courses each day, and to take advantage of wonderful enrichment activities provided by the MHS staff and community members.

Period 3 at MHS is the Advisory/FlexPeriod. On Mondays and most Wednesdays, students use this time with their advisors to work on Academic and Career Planning activities to help them develop a vision and a plan for life after high school. For the remainder of the week, students have significant say in how they spend their FlexPeriod time. The focus of period 3 is enrichment and examples of activities include:

  • Participation in different clubs (FFA, DECA, Raise Your Voice, Student Council, Junior Optimist, YA, Anime Club, etc.)

  • Enrichment activities that promote positive connections within the school. Some examples are board games with teachers and students, book discussion, prep for upcoming activities, or connections over popular topics.

Period 7 at MHS is the Intervention period. The goal of this period is to provide academic support to students. This is both for students who need remediation, want extra practice on topics, or need to makeup work for a variety of reasons. Examples of period 7 activities include:

  • Students who are struggling in a particular course or subject will attend interventions with teachers. During this time, reteaching will take place using alternative strategies to help a student be more successful.

  • Students who missed class for various reasons (illness, field trip, etc.) can meet with teachers to catch up on missed content or complete assignments/tests.

Each day the student can select a different activity based on their unique needs or interests. To learn more about the MHS FlexPeriod, feel free to contact the Student Services office.

To view this week's FlexPeriod offerings, click here.

Junior Jay Talks

Counselors meet 1:1 with all junior students to review their transcripts, discuss students’ post-secondary plans, including how to research and plan for college or full-time work, and go over the timeline of important events and requirements that must be met prior to graduation. Other topics include opportunities for students to earn post-secondary credit while still in high school, and planning for students’ senior schedule of classes. Students are encouraged to be engaged in extracurricular activities and keep a record of their accomplishments throughout high school. Parents are invited and encouraged to attend these conferences.

Schedule Changes

All students must be scheduled for and maintain a minimum of five courses or 2.5 credits per semester. This includes seniors who need less than 5 credits to graduate.

Incomplete: Students receiving an INCOMPLETE will have 10 school days in which to complete the work.

Repeating Courses: Courses may be repeated if the earned grade was an “F.” Both the original and repeat grade will be included on the student's transcript. The "F" will remain on your transcript and in the calculation of a student's GPA.

Dropping Courses:

  • Course drops will not be permitted without Principal approval.

  • There is no penalty for dropping a course in Weeks 1-2

  • A grade of “WF” will be issued if course is dropped in Weeks 3-18.

  • Students will not be allowed to drop below five classes per semester

RTI

The Merrill High School Response to Intervention (RtI) model is a comprehensive strategy to identify and assist students who are struggling both academically or behaviorally. Through our tiered model, students are provided extra assistance, time, and instruction in various settings to help ensure their success.

Identification of Students in Need of Assistance

Merrill High School uses a variety of tools to identify students who are struggling including MAP scores, classroom assessments, grades, attendance data, etc. These tools allow our staff to identify issues as they arise and to develop interventions that can help students be successful.

A Tiered Approach to Interventions

Merrill High School uses a tiered approach to interventions in which the interventions increase in time, frequency and intensity based on individual student needs.

Tier One - At the universal, or Tier One level, research based instruction is provided to all students that is aligned to standards. Technology infused and engaging learning opportunities are provided in the classroom setting with an emphasis on literacy in all content areas. On-going formative assessments are used to monitor student progress and common summative assessments, with an analysis of results and student data, are used. At the Tier One level, teachers develop interventions at the classroom level as needed.

Tier Two - Most students are successful at the Tier One level. However, sometimes extra supports are needed. At the Tier Two level, focused instruction and remediation with students are still provided in the classroom setting. In addition, intervention time and opportunities through the Flex Period, including reteaching and using alternative strategies, are available to students who need these supports. Reteaching and tutoring through student Personalized Learning Time (PLT) or guided study time is available to all students who need that level or support as well. In addition to these supports, students are provided academic skill development through the MHS Academic Support Center during the FlexPeriod. Tier Two interventions occur with greater frequency and intensity that those found in Tier One. Students who are successful with Tier Two interventions return to Tier One.

Tier Three - Tier Three interventions are most intensive interventions available to students at Merrill High School and often include stand alone programming options such as our Credit Recovery or GEDO2 programs and can include programming found at the Merrill Adult Diploma Academy.

The goal of RtI at MHS is simple: identify students who are struggle and provide the supports and strategies needed to help them be successful. For more information on the Merrill High School Response to Intervention model, please contact the MHS Student Services office.

For an overview of MHS Academic Response to Intervention (RtI) Process click here

To see MHS Academic RtI Flowchart click here