CURRICULUM GUIDE 7
ACADEMIC SUPPORT A. Advising Program Every Northfield Mount Hermon student is paired with an advisor who is connected to his or her dorm. Advisors balance a mentor/administrative role and provide support and advice to their advisees in all aspects of the student’s NMH life. The advisor is available to help the student make choices, navigate difficulties, and grow in a healthy way. Advisors advocate for what is in the best interest of the student and work in partnership with parents through regular communication about the student’s world at NMH and beyond. Students work with their advisors to create a long-range plan each year, beginning in the ninth-grade year. Each year students register for classes in April, but attention to the curriculum guide and curricular options begins as early as February. At the beginning of each semester, advisors help advisees to make placement, course, and extracurricular changes when necessary. Advisors also keep track of their advisees’ graduation requirements to be sure that students are enrolling in the courses that will best help them meet the school’s requirements. Starting in the junior year, the advisor works with the student’s college counselor on the student’s academic and extracurricular schedule in an effort to ensure that the student is prepared for life after NMH.
B. Center for Academic Strategies and Achievement The mission of the Center for Academic Strategies and Achievement (CASA) is to nurture self-knowledge, selfadvocacy, and self-efficacy in order to increase academic confidence and efficiency. Students work with an academic coach in a one-to-one setting for 60 minutes per week, free of charge. CASA’s academic coaching model revolves around strategy instruction to boost test preparation, note taking, reading comprehension, and written expression; particular attention is paid to executive skills including time management, organization, and goal setting. Through this work, CASA helps students understand better how they learn and what they need in order to be more efficient, successful scholars. For more information or to make a self-referral, interested students should contact the CASA director. For subject-specific help, students are encouraged to meet with their teacher for extra help and attend the writing, math, and/or science help centers which are opened in the evenings during study hall. If a student needs support beyond this, a subject-specific tutor can be put in place for a cost. Students can access the tutor lists through their advisor.
C. Schauffler Library Schauffler Library supports students’ intellectual and personal growth by working closely with faculty to ensure that students learn to think critically about information and have the opportunity to engage with diverse ideas and perspectives. Librarians work with faculty to help students learn to locate, evaluate, and cite scholarly information in all formats. Librarians also build a well-rounded collection (with extensive input from the community) to support the curriculum, recreational reading, and personal exploration. A print collection of 35,000 volumes and 75 periodical subscriptions is supplemented by online holdings including 140,000+ ebooks, tens of thousands of full-text periodicals, and streaming educational video. Most required course textbooks can be borrowed from the library reserve shelf. The library collects and circulates a number of technological devices, including Chromebooks, iPads, and computer chargers. NMH students can tap into the rich library holdings of colleges and universities in Massachusetts and across the country by requesting materials via interlibrary loan. The Archives, housed in the library, bring together a living collection of materials relating to the history of NMH since its beginning in 1879. Frequent users of the archives include NMH classes, alumni and their families, NMH offices, and outside researchers. The library is open 81 hours per week, offering students access to information and expert help as well as a variety of spaces conducive to quiet reading and reflection, individual and group work, and active learning. In addition to librarians and peer technology coaches, who offer research, citation, and technology help, English teachers and history peer tutors are available in the library during study hall to offer writing and history help, respectively. Learn more about Schauffler Library by visiting our website: http://www.nmhschool.org/academics/library.