How Everyone Failed the Seinor Sent Back to 9TH GRADE

I've begun writing this blog post in July. I only escaped 9th grade about a month ago, yet I have to go back in a little less than 2 months. If you asked me to do freshman year over again or make me live in the woods for a day, I'm more willing to get devoured by bears then go through THAT heckhole again.

It's a good thing I'm smart (not to brag but I'm an all As...okay all As and one B student) or else I would've faced the reality of summer school, or worse- being held back. Having to do one extra year of school is one heck of a punishment, and if it didn't influence someone to become a better student, I don't know what would.

That being said, if I had to repeat one year of high school over repeating four years of high school, I'd obviously do the first. Thankfully, no one has ever had to repeat high school all over again!

...at least, until, this happened.

The Awful Alumni

"Student sent back to 9th Grade from 12th Grade"

Yep. You read that right. A student actually had to repeat four years of high school. FOUR YEARS of high school. After all that time, he got held back to the beginning. This is absolutely shocking and tragic. 

By the time your out of high school, your about 17 or 18. Still a teen, but close to adulthood. It's where your life should begin- you start to consider career paths or colleges. But because of this, the student will have to spend the first four years of what should've been the beginning of his life...still in high school. He would be 21 or 22 when he gets out- and not even in college!

Of course though, as you learned in 1st grade, every effect in life (having to repeat high school) has at least one cause. How could this student flunk so bad he has to repeat high schoool? Many factors.

As you can already guess by the title, I'm going to discuss how EVERYONE in this situation failed. In specific:

• The school system
• The mother
• Even the student himself

I suggest you watch the video for yourself first to get your own thoughts, then come back here when your ready to hear from me.

Have you done it? Let's go.

Faking the Grade

So immediately, before we begin, we can already make some assumptions...if a teenager was held back, it's usually due to poor academics. So obviously, this student probably wasn't doing well in school. And we find out how bad he was doing after we're introduced to the mother, Tiffany France. She has three children (including the student) and has to work three jobs. She is confident in knowing who failed him.

"He's stressed, and I am to. I don't know what to do for him! He's like 'Mom, what was all this for? What did I do this for?' Like, do he get a chance? Why would he need three more years in school? He didn't fail, the school failed him. The school failed at their job. They failed! (x3) He didn't deserve that."

And immediately, I definitely have to agree. The school where this incident occurred is Augusta Fells Savage Institute of Visual Arts, (a school in Baltimore, Maryland) which is actually surprisingly still open to this day. If a school had a student have to repeat the entirety of high school, I'm pretty sure it's closing immediately. There's still more people we have to blame later on, but we'll get that when we need to.

Anyway, it's obvious the school didn't give the child a chance for proper growth an education. It's the school's responsibility to make sure every student has a chance to graduate and prosper in life. So how could they let this student slip by the cracks? It's...interesting.

We finally get to see the grades of this student in question and- HOLY MOTHER POTATOES- WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?!

I bet if you placed a kindergartener in a high school class they'd still do better than this.

He only passed 3 out of 9 of his classes. A THIRD of his classes he passed. And even then, he did it just barely. Let's just observe this real quick.

The classes he got Fs were Algebra, American Government, Biology, Fine Arts Drama, SAT Prep (Math)-...he even failed PERSONAL FITNESS! It's the LOWEST grade here...my question is, how do you fail gym?! It's the one class that doesn't have any written exams, tests, or homework that you could screw up. Yes, there are running tests, but-...you can't fail them unless you went out of your way to not run. All you got to do is just participate and keep active in the class, and you get an EASY A. Even if your bad at sports, you shouldn't be able to fail gym. Here are a few explanations:

1) He's really inactive and doesn't participate all.

2) He doesn't dress properly with gym clothes

3) He ain't even bothering to come to class at all

I have a feeling #3 will be correct given the information I will tell you next. Anyway, he did manage to barely pass 3 classes, but they are still Ds in English and the Fundamentals of Art. Oh yeah, how do you fail art class to? Again, no tests. Even the most uncreative person could pass art.

His highest grade and the only good grade here is a B in Health Ed...and all I'm wondering is, why is that class in specific he passed? I don't even know how to answer that. It's just a random outlier. And in all, he only has...2.5 credits. Wow.

But anyway, just by seeing that report card, we can already get an idea this student does not show up to class or care about doing his schoolwork. He may as well not handed anything in. That part can be blamed on the student. However, we also have to ask...how did no one notice or care about him failing this badly? If I had grades like this, my counselor's probably scheduling a conference with my parents. Despite this, the mom only found out about this FEBRUARY of that year!

The video then explains that even though his grades were literally in heck, he still managed to be PROMOTED every year to higher classes. Why didn't the teachers tell anyone about this? Well, my favorite explanation is from someone who reacted to the video (link at the end) saying the teachers were just tired of his lazy, annoying behavior. Seems fitting.

Then they dig deeper into the son's records, and-

"In his first three years at Augusta Fells, he failed 22 classes, and was late or absent 272 times."

WHAT. THE. HECK.

And they said only his first three years! Imagine what happened in his senior year.

Strange School Statistics

Let's do some math to understand how awful this actually is:

We see for this year he had 9 classes. Let's assume he had that many each year. 9 times 3 is 27, so he would've had about 27 classes. He failed 22. 22/27 = 0.8148, or about 81%. He failed about fourth-fifths of classes in his first three years of high school! That is UNBELIEVABLE!

Now let's address the absences and late days. While there's obviously a difference between not coming at all and missing some of class, we're going to merge them in a similar category. After some quick research, I found out there are about 180 days in a Maryland school year, not counting weekends or most holidays. 

I did some estimation and I think there would be about 40 - 70 of those school days dedicated to weekends or holidays. We're going to say about 130 days your actually in school. Multiply by that 3, and 9th - 11th grade would be about 390 days. 272/390 = 0.697, or about 70%. He missed nearly two-thirds of classes in his first three years of high school! This is UNACCEPTABLE!

At that point, I'm surprised he didn't just drop out. He practically failed nearly 75% of school in general and actually expected to graduate. I don't know what else to say, he's screwed! And apparently, there was one conference planned by a teacher, but the mom didn't find out, so the student just carried out.

So anyway, with the knowledge this student will have to repeat 4 years of high school, has only 2.5 credits, failed 22 classes, and didn't even attend said classes 272 times...what do you think could top this?

 

THIS.

This is what tops all. His GPA is 0.1373- which is already astonishing. But then you look at...his class rank.

Out of 120 students...he ranked nearly halfway, at 62.

I want you to pause for a second and actually consider how abominable that is. If he ranks #62...what are the grades of the 58 students BELOW him?! His GPA is 0.1373!! There are also 61 students above him, which do have better grades than him...but how better? How many students have at most a GPA of 1 in this school?!

And the fact that 58 students are actually somehow doing worse than him demonstrates that it's not just this student who slipped through the cracks. Half of this school is failing. What kind of high school is this with a pass rate less than a half? How is the school still open after this?

The Blame Game (pt. 1)

So we've already made it very obvious it's the student and faculty's fault this has happened. The school clearly did not make much of an effort to keep his grades up to date or refer to him to say, summer school. At the same time, the student himself clearly did not put much effort into his studies. The fact he's almost perpetually absent shows he didn't care to go to class or do his work.

However, we also have to consider there's sadly many reasons students won't work besides laziness. Sometimes bullying, mental disorders, living situations, or learning disabilities can decrease a student's drive to attend school. I wonder if this student had any undiagnosed condition that may have hindered his ability do work.

There is one more person however who shares the blame for letting this student's grades get so bad...I wonder who it could be...

"He's a good kid! Like he didn't deserve that- where is the mentors, where is the help for him? I hate that this is happening to my child!"

Yep. Mom. Where are the mentors? Where is HE?! He's not GOING to class in the first place! He's not going to get a chance to get help unless he actually goes to class. And excuse me ma'am, I understand being mad at the school- they should've helped you. But at the same time, I find it ridiculous YOU didn't know anything about his poor academics. Did you not get any report cards? I didn't actually get report cards for my 9th grade year (for some reason), but that doesn't mean you wouldn't not know about his grades at all. Nowadays you can easily check online your child's grades, which my mom does frequently. You clearly didn't.

The Official's Opinions

We'll get back to my opinion on the mom later, but let's resume the video, where a city school administrator explains what he thinks of the situation. With a very weird voice filter on him that makes him sound like Darth Vader because he doesn't want to be identified in fear of retaliation. A part of me finds this scummy considering your in charge in making sure things like this don't happen in the first place, let you casually did. Then again, I do know people go crazy and genuinely harass others over things like this, so I guess I can't be too upset.

Anyway, CSA has based opinions on the incident. "We see on the news the crime that occurs, the murders, the shootings; we know there are high levels of poverty in Baltimore...things like this are adding to it." And yeah, most students who don't end up having a chance at an education and growing up in healthy environments like this will end up in terrible situations like this when they're older. The CSA also said he would personally apologize to the mom. I appreciate the sincerity, but apologies mean little when a student has to repeat the entirety of high school.

 "Dr. Sonia Santelesis was school CEO four years ago, when France's son was a freshman," She refused to be interviewed, but she did send an interesting statement explaining what should have happened when a student is flunking or persistently absent.

Apparently, at the end of the school year, letters are sent to the students about their academic status, and they can find it in the Campus Portal...right, because if I'm hypothetically the student in this case who is NOT going to class in the first place, I'm totally going to this "Campus Portal" and telling my mother about improving my education.

...I'm pretty sure this would be more effective if it was sent to a family member. It also said that a call should be made to the home when a student is absent in class, and they were willing to conduct home visits when the student wouldn't show up- which is a good system. However, Tiffany France claims NONE of this happened, indicating the system wasn't held up.

Also, we still need to adress the other problems that led to this- why could he move up grades if he was failing? How is ranked 62 out of 120 students, and what does that mean for all the students below him? This sounds like a very poorly structured school. The letter does say they will "review actions that impacted student outcomes." In other words, they didn't care to make sure students were succeeding unitl it was already too late for one of them. 10/10 system, American school system.

The Blame Game (pt. 2)

Anyway, the mom shows up again, and says:

"It really took a lot to just build up the courage to do this, like... [...] And he feels embarrassed, like he feels like a failure, and I'm like- you can't feel like that. You have to be strong. You have to keep fighting. He's willing, he's trying, but where would he turn to when the people that's supposed to help him is not (there)?"

Listen here mom. I understand being distraught by your son's failure, but...the school system did not give birth to him. You chose to have three children and needed three jobs, but that doesn't mean knowing about your son's education is a last priority. He was struggling and you failed to notice that. It's not just the school's fault. And your giving him the mindset that it was only the school's fault- not any personal responsibility on him or you. As sad is this situation, he should feel embarrassed, and take responsibility for messing up this badly. He can channel his negative emotions to improving. If he's not going to class, he's already not going to have the opportunity to get help from the people you say weren't there. For all we know they may have been there but he didn't realize it.

Yes, life is about fighting, being willing, trying your best...but he wasn't. He didn't fight to keep his grades up. He wasn't willing to go class. He didn't try to do his work. He didn't care, and his grades reflect that. So now you want to pretend he's willing to do all this when the damage has already been done? This type of mindset might give him the false (and toxic) illusion it's not his fault when he fails. When you mess up, confront that setback. Don't just blame others for it. Blame yourself, in a healthy manner of course.

I understand it's easy to push all the blame on the school for not doing their job properly and making sure this student has a great education- and it's true. It is the school's fault. But if we only blame them, we're going to the miss the other people at fault: the student and his mom. The mom clearly didn't do anything to help her son in school, which is how it got this bad. And the student himself did not bother. He doesn't care. He just thought he could dilly dally his way through school and actually graduate. Now that he's facing the consequences (which I imagine he never did in the first place), he's screwed up.

It's Everyone's Fault

So, we've gone through the entire story of this student's flunking. Who exactly is to blame here?

You already know the answer.

First of all, it's the student's fault, because:

• He didn't care to show up to class on time
• He didn't care to improve his grades or ask for help
• He didn't care to participate in classes and do work
• He literally thought he could just graduate by doing nothing

Remember how earlier he told his mom, "Mom, what was all this for? What did I do this for?" Excuse me, weren't you absent or late 272 times and failed 22 classes? What do you mean "all"? You did nothing, and as a result, your graduation was nothing. Assuming he looked at his grades, did he actually think he could just waltz out of school with...those grades?!

It would be one thing if there was at least evidence he tried to pass in his work or participated, but his persistence absences and failing even easy classes like gym tells me he doesn't care much about school, and doesn't have a good word ethic.

I did mention that I felt the student may have more going on, like a learning disability or something at home. I think there should be more investigated on his homelife and relationships if the situation got this bad. I remember most bad kids from my school hung out with each other, so he may have been influenced by his other poorly educated peers. (I bet those friends were ranked even lower than him)

Secondly, it's the mother's fault, because:

• She didn't help her son with his work and promote responsible study habits
• She's defending her son as if it wasn't his fault at all
• She had children but wasn't bothered to check on her son's academics

Something just comes across as frustrating how much the mom tries to only blame the school and pretend she wasn't the one who gave birth to him in the first place. It's your job as parents to make sure your child has the best education, and even if the system was broken, you neglected to notice or care about your son's academics.

I do understand she was busy with her 3 jobs and other children, but that doesn't mean what your child is up to should take the back burner. I'm not saying to be obsessive about your child's personal life, but just checking in once and a while might stop problems like self-harm, drug abuse, or in this case- missing school.

Lastly, it's the school's fault, because:

• They failed to look into his absenteeism
• They promoted him despite him failing classes
• They didn't address his flunking to his mom
• They lacked resources available to help him

Your a school. Your job is to make sure no child is left behind, has a great education, and is motivated to be a someobody in the real world. Little to no efforts were made discerning his bad behavior. In my school, if your chronically late or absent, your grade drops to a D automatically, which would be very noticeable and alarming. I also remember sometimes during the year I would be late a lot, and my mom was sent an EMAIL so she could discuss it with me. This helped me be more punctual. For all I know, nothing happened when he was late or absent. No one asked where he was.

I also can't believe that despite him failing literally two thirds of his classes, his teachers batted an eye and let him move onto the next grade. Highly negligent and careless of them to do that. If I was a teacher and noticed consistent behavioral problems with a student, I would probably schedule a conference with the parent. One teacher did try that, but for some reason it didn't get through. Either the mom didn't bother to read her email or the teacher didn't properly send it.

I wonder if there were any mentors, tutors, or counselors in this school. These types of people exist to promote emotional growth in students for a reason. I began going to counseling sometime in 3rd grade, and look at me now!...Well, I'm not perfect, but at least my GPA is greater than 4, not less than 1! I bet without people like that in my life I would be in a much worse mental state right now. (Shoutout to all my counselors btw) I feel like if this student had the chance to meet someone like that, he could have been saved.

EVERYONE in this situation failed, which is how this unfortunate teenager ended up in such a tragic, stupid, and just preventable predicament.

Overall Thoughts

Our story does have a bit of a bittersweet ending to it. Tiffany Frances took her son out of Augusta Fells and he was enrolled in an accelerated school program in another high school. The news reporter said "if he works hard, he could graduate by 2023". It's 2025 now, so hopefully he was able to graduate and he's gotten his life back on track. I mean, if being held back by 4 years wasn't a wake up call enough, I think my grades being so bad they end up on the NEWS would certainly be one.

Still though, this entire situation demonstrates how easy it is for students to slip into the cracks and end up flunking or dropping out. I think we should look at this incident to prevent something as absurd as it happening again.

So, here's my advice to all the parties I mentioned:

If you're a student:

• Attend your classes and try and be on time
• Seek help if you need it
• DO YOUR FREAKING WORK

You've been given the important opportunity to grow as a person and develop good habits for the future. If you don't care, you're early adulthood will be unstable.

If you're a parent:

• Pay attention to your child's behavior and academics, don't let it slide
• Teach your child it's okay to get things wrong, but to always try their best
• Make sure you know what's happening at school

You gave birth to your child, so its your responsibility to raise them.

If you're a school:

• Don't let students get this bad, and address the problem once it's noticed
• Make sure resources such as counselors are available for students like this
• Consider closing down if a student with a GPA of 0.13 IS RANKED #62 OF 120!!!

I still refuse to believe that half of this school has a GPA of 0.13 of lower. Someone has to be in the negative at that point. And if #62 ends up having to repeat the entirety of high school, my question is...what do you think happened to student #120? 

...I don't even wanna think about it.

I actually read on the Augusta Fells Wikipedia page that one year, only four seniors graduated. First of all, that must've been a very lonely graduation. Secondly, if only four out of 120 seniors had the grades to graduate...this school has about a 3% pass rate.

Note to self: Never enroll my future child in Augusta Fells.

No seriously, look at this.

What do you think? How else could this incident have been prevented? What should we learn from it so future students don't end in a similar affair?

Thanks for reading!

- ninesevenpotatoes, 2025

Video reacting to the news story