Principal Nia Hogue said the event’s activities began during the school day, starting with study sessions. Since not every scholar could stay after school, two hour-long review and preparation sessions were held during class. After dismissal, 84 middle-school students remained at the school for another hour of studying followed by three hours of fun activities with dinner included.
The review sessions covered math, science, and ELA with a focus on the skills needed to effectively approach the state test. With fun and educational events like these, it should come as no surprise Emerson has outperformed the local district for the last 17 years.
During the ELA session, scholars became investigators and had to properly cite their evidence. To help prepare for the math portion of the state test, scholars experienced a coffee-themed workshop. Hogue said teachers did a great job of creating cool ways for scholars to connect to the content.
“I think the biggest thing was showing students these skills are really important,” Hogue said. “I always try to have students participate in discourse. We need students talking about the content and talking through answering problems because that’s the best way for it to stick and make sense.”
Students also learned about how questions on the state test will look and best practices for narrowing down answer choices. They were reminded to re-read passages or questions to understand what the test is looking for. Gaining clarity on what the objective of each question is crucial.
“Oftentimes what we find is the way state test questions are worded isn’t always the way our students speak on a day-to-day basis,” Hogue said.
After students sharpened their minds, they stayed at the school for three hours of fun, engaging activities with options for everyone. In the gymnasium, students played in a five-on-five basketball tournament and the school’s cheer team encouraged players on the sidelines. Some students took advantage of the game room with plenty of board and card games.
One aspect of the night Hogue enjoyed most was seeing scholars disconnect from technology and have fun. She said outside of a TikTok corner during the night’s festivities, Hogue noticed a lack of cell phone use.
“I did not see students on their phones a lot,” Hogue said. “Everybody was involved. Everybody was doing something. Seeing everybody just out socializing with each other was super cool.”
NERD Night also allowed parents to get involved. They were able to donate snacks, supplies, or cash to help provide a great experience for scholars. Some parents also volunteered their time, helping serve dinner. Hogue said parents were eager to help.
“I think their participation was so important because it allows the parents to show up in some type of capacity,” Hogue said. “When we asked for volunteers to help with dinner, we had a lot of parents willing to volunteer. Our parents got a glimpse of what it’s like from the inside.”
Great event, Nia and Emerson! Keep up the great work!
Check out a school near you!
About Emerson Academy
Emerson Academy of Dayton is a tuition-free, public charter school in Dayton, Ohio, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies (NHA®) network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.
Visit Emerson Academy's blog to read more stories like this.