To Academy Or Not To Academy - that is the question

[Scott Habeeb]

Freshman Academies is a topic that comes up often when discussing Freshman Transition Programs. This blog post will include links that deal with the pros and cons of the Academy approach to Freshman Transition as well as other alternatives:

Blogs:

• Pros and Cons of the Academy Approach
• Pros and Cons of the Departmentalized Approach
• Why do Freshman Academies Sometimes Fail?
• The Case Against the Freshman Academy

Books:

• The Ninth Grade Opportunity: Transforming Schools from the Bottom Up - This book details how to create an FTP based on a teaming approach. This approach could be used within a Freshman Academy but can also be used with the more traditional Departmentalized Approach.

Articles

• The Ninth Grade Challenge - Article written in Feb 2013 Ed Leadership Magazine from the NASSP about the academy model and the essential components of Freshman Transition