Introductions

[Scott Habeeb]

Please tell the other members of the network a little about yourself. Nothing is too short and nothing is too long. Just let us know who we are so we can turn this network into a true community.

[Angie Besendorfer]

I am Angie Besendorfer.  I am serving the students of Joplin Schools as assistant superintendent.  Since the tornado we have the opportunity to totally redesign our high school for 2200 students grades 9-12.  We are wrestling with the concept of creating a freshman "wing" or "academy" against creating a "freshman experience".  We plan to implement a career academy model and are debating about whether students can move from 8th grade into a career pathway or if they need a transition year.  I am very interested in your feedback.  

[Scott Habeeb]

Thanks for joining, Angie, and for introducing yourself to the group.  I plan to call Sandra Cantwell at some point today.  There's no question whatsoever that 9th graders need a transition year.  The question is how should that look and be structured.  It is definitely possible to have a successful transition year without dedicating the physical resources demanded by the typical academy/wing model. 

[Amy Rafano]

my name is amy rafano and I teach high school english, 3 sections of college prep seniors and 2 sections of basic english 1 for freshmen.  i focused my masters culminating project around freshman academy and stayed on with the pilot during implementation at our high school.  I have been teaching for 8 years prior to that I spend 18 years in corporate american in travel.

[Scott Habeeb]

Thanks, Amy, for introducing yourself to everyone.  I wonder if anything from your masters culminating project would make for an interesting blog post on this network?

[Melissa Goodwin]

I work in curriculum and instruction for Chesapeake Public Schools in Chesapeake, Virginia as a coordinator for AVID; PAL (Program of Accelerated Learning), a program that helps students retained in seventh grade or earlier complete grades seven and eight in one year and start high school on time; and freshman transition.  I am excited to be part of the intial team working with our freshman transition initiative and look forward to reading about what others are doing in this area.    

[Scott Habeeb]

Welcome, Melissa, and thanks for introducing yourself.  AVID is a wonderful program and you'll find that many of it's principles are essential to the success transition of freshmen.  Please let me know if I can help out your school system at all.  I regularly work with schools to develop freshman transition programs.  You also might want to check out my book on the topic.  Here's a link: http://solutionsetc.org/form/bookorder.html.  Thanks again for joining!

[Erin Hibbitt]

Hello!  I am currently in my first year as a high school counselor, grade 9.  I previously worked in our feeder middle school for 8 years as the counselor there.  Our high school is trying to find ways to help our freshman be more successful.  We currently have a mentorship program, and are looking at building a freshman academy setting next year.  Any input/advice would be appreciated!

[Scott Habeeb]

Erin - welcome to a very tough job!!!  I'd love to help you out if I can.  As you look at the Academy model, you might want to check out this blog post: http://freshmantransition.ning.com/profiles/blogs/freshmanacademy  I would encourage you to check out how teaming might work in your school.  This is obviously self-serving, but my book on the topic might help.  Here's a link: http://solutionsetc.org/form/bookorder.html.  If you ever want to talk to get some input/advice, just let me know.

[Erin Clabough]

Hello, all,

My name is Erin and I teach English in Knoxville, TN.  I have been working at my school for six years, and four years ago we embarked on a full-scale redesign in an effort to avoid reconstitution.  The redesign has been immensely successful, although a challenge every step of the way.  Currently, I am teaching in a freshman/sophomore "lower house" where I loop with my students until they move on to their junior year.  I am blessed to be working for a highly supportive, visionary administration. 

I firmly believe that our students set their paths in the 9th grade year, and that's why I'm passionate about working with these students; in the English classroom, I'm glad to have many opportunities to teach well beyond the content standards. 

I look forward to hearing about what others are trying, and I hope I can contribute some ideas as well!

[Scott Habeeb]

Thanks for introducing yourself, Erin, and thanks for the things you shared during the workshop yesterday.  I enjoyed my time at Fulton and look forward to hearing from you about how things progress there.

[Brandy Nichole Thomas]

Hello, My name is Brandy Thomas and I am a teacher in Fayette County, WV.  I am a special education teacher and Co-teach in freshmen classes.  I am excited to join this webpage and hope to learn from other teachers throughout the state. 

[Scott Habeeb]

Thanks for sharing today, Brandy!