CLYMER — The number of Clymer Central School students failing at least one subject has increased slightly so far in 2020 compared to 2019.

Brianne Fadale, Clymer Central School high school principal, said the number of students failing at least one course in fifth through 12th grades has increased from 34 in 2019 to 43 in 2020. Given the lengthy period of at-home learning to end the 2019-20 school year and the uncertainty over how school would proceed this year, Fadale said such a slight increase is not alarming.

‘That could be multiple subject areas,” she said. “Seeing where we are with this crazy world we’re living in, we’re close to where we were last yaer. And, that’s looking at all the failures; that’s not looking at all of the positives.”

Fifth through 12th grades have traditional numeric grades rather than letter-based grades as is common in elementary school grades, and Fadale said she has noticed some of the same names from the lists during the first quarter last year and the first quarter this year. A majority of the students are learning in school, though during parent-teacher conferences teachers did discuss with parents if it would be better for some students to return to the school building.

“We noticed a trend we were haring from teachers and that was a conversation with parents, ‘We think it would be a good choice for you to have this student come back because we just don’t think it’s working,'” Fadale said.

Ed Mulkearn, Clymer Central School board president, asked Fadale if she had a sense if students are struggling because of the way the 2019-20 school year ended, if they weren’t properly prepared for this school year or other factors. Fadale said the first quarter of the 2020-21 school year may be a struggle for some students who already needed additional time to get into a scholastic routine.

“”I think we’re going to have kids where that’s going to happen,” Fadale said. “I’m not saying you give up and don’t try different things, but we’re going to see faiure. … I know at first we wanted to see where they were, where they came in. I know we looked at their benchmark data and said, ‘Oh boy.’ But we’re not surprised at this. From we’ve seen a lot of growth as well. When I look at the five-week, I look at numbers and compare them to the 10-week, even though they’re still failing they’re closer to passing. It depends on the kid and their work habits. That’s where my head is at right now.”

Mulkearn noted that Fadale, Joshua Tedone, Clymer’s elementary school principal, and Beth Olson, district superintendent, didn’t sound concerned or overwhelmed with the early results they’re seeing from students. Fadale said they are putting additional supports in place for students, such as the Homework Club, and adjusting AIS blocks to help. They are also reviewing supports for students to make sure they are working as intended.

“We have the data and we’re using it to make our decisions moving forward,” Fadale said. “It’s just harder this year. Everything is harder.”

Fadale also noted one item that motivates students over which she has no control – sports.

“Another motivator is sports,” she said. “We have alot of kids where that’s a big motivator. For a lot of them, that is it.”