BETH BALBIERZ / THE RECORD Eddie Shullman, 14, poring over review notes in a biology class at the Joseph DeFalco Summer Institute for Advanced Studies at Hackensack High School.

HACKENSACK

It's hot and humid. A summer day to take a dip in the ocean or stand close to an air conditioner.

But at Hackensack High School, where the only breeze comes from electric fans, talk of hitting the beach is absent. Instead, teenagers ponder the theory of human evolution, decipher poems in a second language and test their geometry skills.

"It's a lot of info to take in at once," said 16-year-old Mark Mikhail sitting in a six-week geometry course that will earn him high school credits. "But I think it will help a lot in trying to get into college."

Mark is among 300 students taking classes at the Joseph DeFalco Summer Institute for Advanced Studies. The school allows teens to take courses to enhance their academic record and prepare for more challenging classes in September.

"You don't come here in the summer if you fail a course," said Michael Wojcik, assistant principal at Hackensack High School."We don't provide that kind of summer school. Students come here because they want to accelerate their academic program."

The institute is named after the high school's former principal, Joseph DeFalco, who died of a heart attack in May. DeFalco had appointed staff to expand existing summer programs and form the institute.

"He was so thrilled about this," said Mark Porto, who was named principal last month. "Mr. DeFalco wanted to encourage students to take at least one class that was an advanced class. One challenging course."

School officials hope the institute, which officially opened July 1, will also boost state standardized test results.

"If you emphasize your academic programs and push the academic bar, then test scores will rise," Wojcik said.

Increasing test performance is a priority at the high school. The school has been classified "in need of improvement" under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The school's scores on the High School Proficiency Assessment have improved slightly, but still need improvement. Scores for the 2004-05 school year show that 26.6 percent of students taking the test were partially proficient in language arts and 27.9 percent were partially proficient in math.

No Child Left Behind requires that students' scores be organized into subgroups based on ethnicity, socioeconomic status, special education and proficiency in English.

At Hackensack High School, the subgroup of students who have limited proficiency in English and are economically disadvantaged failed to make "adequate yearly progress" in 2003-04. Results for this past school year have not been made available, school officials said.

The high school serves more than 1,900 students, approximately 150 who are classified as having limited proficiency in English, said school officials. Those students have a hard time passing the all-English test, but officials want to create several programs, similar to the institute, to improve proficiency.

"I think we can meet [adequate yearly progress] ... if we start doing programs that are completely unique and really work with individualized plans with students," Porto said.

The institute is composed of 16 courses that serve students in Grades 9-12. Most classes meet Monday through Friday and last two to six weeks. Among the class offerings are geometry, algebra, pre-calculus, chemistry and biology.

"We do cover a lot of material, but the kids are a joy to have," said Albert Piotrowski, a biology teacher. "They want to succeed, they want to do well and they chose to do this."

One class is geared toward recent immigrants, who take bilingual classes during the school year. The summer class is taught only in English and covers literature, grammar, vocabulary and reading. The goal is to give students the self-confidence to take a regular English class in the fall.

"That is recognizing kids who are talented and bright and the only thing holding them back is the language," Wojcik said.

Alie Madi, who arrived in Hackensack from Turkey in April, said the class has helped his language skills.

"I know about new words," he said.

Other classes allow students to earn high school credit and follow a more advanced track of study. For example, students who took a regular physical science class last year are taking a college preparatory biology class this summer. If they pass the course, they not only get high school credits, but they are also eligible to take a college prep chemistry course in September.

Charles Bethea, 15, a sophomore, said the opportunity to get ahead appealed to him.

"We're here only for four hours and otherwise I'd be sleeping, so this is worth it," he said.

Some classes are not taken for credit but to help students prepare for Advanced Placement courses to earn college credits.

"We've learned new ways of taking notes and how to get organized," said Natalie Lesmes, 15, of Maywood, who took two review classes.

Porto said the number of AP classes and students taking those courses has been increasing every year. But a concern for school officials is the small number of students who achieve a high score in the AP exams. Of the 210 AP tests taken last school year, only 100 of those tests had a score of 3 or better on a scale of 1 to 5, Porto said.

"Some of our best students did not get our best scores," he said. "Some of our best students got twos or threes, which indicates that they are not being challenged enough."

Porto said he has spoken to teachers and has asked them to reevaluate their lesson plans.

The school district budgeted $44,000 for the institute to pay teachers. Porto said next year he hopes to apply for grants and solicit funds from local businesses to expand the program.

"It's that important," he said. "We want to get a third of the children involved."

E-mail: alvarado@northjersey.com