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.

[Scott Habeeb]

I am an assistant principal for curriculum and instruction at Salem High School in Salem, VA. I am also an educational consultant with Solutions, etc. Along with Ray Moore, I have assisted schools from over 20 states with their Freshman Transition needs. Together we have written a book on the topic - The Ninth Grade Opportunity: Transforming Schools from the Bottom Up. We also host conferences every spring and fall on the topic and travel to schools to help them create their own solution to their ninth grade problem. I look forward to getting to know and learn from the other members of this network.

[Scott Habeeb]

I should have added in my introduction a little information about the Freshman Transition Program that I am a part of at Salem High School. SHS started its program back in the early 90's. We use a team approach. A team of 4 core teachers share a group of students. The team of teachers meets daily to discuss student issues, to conference with students and parents, to share strategies and ideas, and to further develop and adapt their program. This has been very successful for about 17 years. I started my career as a 9th Grade World History teacher on one of our 2 teams. Currently I oversee our Freshman Transition Program in my role as assistant principal for curriculum and instruction.

[Dr. Ronald G. Shapiro]

Hi everyone,

I'd first like to thank Scott for establishing this group. I am pleased to be a part of it.

I have developed a number of presentations for students who have:
* recently completed a major milestone, such as transitioning from a middle school to a high school
* been elected or appointed to a leadership position in school
* expressed an interest in a career in technology
* expressed an interest in a career in psychology
* started to think about career preparation.

I joined this Ning to share my work with you and to learn from you.

My formal education in psychology focused on human perception, performance and cognition. My certification is in human factors/ergonomics -- applying my psychology education to designing products, solutions, and services so that they will be easy for people to use. I've taught introductory psychology (college/university level) to about a thousand students and am a regular presenter at middle schools, high schools, colleges, universities, and professional conferences. My recent experience includes managing technical learning, technical leadership, career coaching, new employee orientation and employee university education for IBM. Currently I am an independent consultant and speaker/presenter in Human Factors, Ergonomics, User Experience, Education, Learning, Leadership, Career Development and Human Resources. I've published and presented and am listed in Marquis Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who In Science and Engineering.

I've placed a lot more detail on My Page here on The Freshman Transition Network.

I do hope that we will get to share many experiences together in the upcoming days, weeks, months, years and decades. Please do let me know how I can be of help to you.

Ron

[Raider Fan]

Hello everyone

I am a vice principal for a comprehensive high school in Northern, California. I have been workiing in the area of ninth grade transition to high for the last three years. This year is the second year of my schools implementation a ninth grade transition summer school program, We have an enrollment of about 80 students and we actually had a waiting list. I look forward to getting to know more from members in this network, I probably have more questions than answers, but I am looking forward to learning more about how I can make ninth grade transition more meaningful at my school.

Raider Fan

[Scott Habeeb]

Thanks for posting, Raider Fan. Don't worry about having more questions than answers. In fact, the more questions that get asked on the network, the better.

[Esther]

I am a teacher at Davenport North High School in Davenport, Iowa. I teach English 9 and Freshman Honors English in the 9th grade academy, as well as teaching Speech to 10th and 11th graders. I am also the Speech and Debate coach.
We started our 9th grade academy in 2006 and it continues to be a work in progress. I have enjoyed being a member of The Freshman Transition ning and have found it to be a wealth of information. It is good to be able to ask questions, get new ideas and share what we have found successful and not so successful.
Thanks to all who contribute.

[Scott Habeeb]

Good to hear from you again, Esther. I enjoy what you add to this network. I hope things are going well in Davenport.

[debbie nicholas]

I teach Art at a 4-A high school in Northeast Texas. I am also co-sponsor of our student council, as such I am looking for great ideas to use.

[Scott Habeeb]

Thanks for joining the network. I bet there are some others on here who are also involved with student council. Feel free to open a forum discussion asking for any specific ideas.

[Dr. Ronald G. Shapiro]

Hi Debbie,
You might be interested in my presentation/workshop Effective Leadership Involves Working Through Others. The abstract follows:
Oftentimes team captains, club presidents and other office holders at the high school level are selected because they are great individual performers. An outstanding basketball player might be elected as the captain of the basketball team. An excellent writer might be elected to be the newspaper editor. A great actor might be elected as president of the drama club. To be effective once one becomes a leader a different set of skills is needed because being an effective leader involves working through others. This workshop will begin with scenarios on how to achieve success by working through others to help them grow. During the second part of the workshop we will discuss how you can achieve your personal objectives while working through others. In the third part of the workshop we will have some exercises and games to help us learn about human capabilities and limitations so that we can be more successful working through others. Finally, we will select our champion and complete our final exam. This session will be informative and fun!!! You may even win a prize.
Effective Leadership has been successfully presented at conferences such as National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) as well as at schools. If you would like a complimentary copy send me an email with your name, address, school, phone, subjects taught, and an email account that can accept large files (up to 5 meg). I also offer complimentary telephone consultation and I do school visits as well. Effective Leadership would be an excellent workshop to start off the year.

If you get into any Industrial Design/web design work in your art curriculum Games To Explain Human Factors: Come,Participate,Learn & Have Fun! would be a great program for you as well.

Please let me know if I can be of help to you. Ron

[debbie nicholas]

Hello,
I am an art teacher at a 4-A high school in Northeast Texas. I am also co-sponsor of student council, as such I am looking for ideas to implement in our freshman camp. The student council basically runs the freshman camp and we are looking for ways to make the most of our few hours with these students before the beginning of school.

[Marsha'l Westfall-Haessig]

I am retired Air Force, have over 18 years teaching at the high school and college level, and am finishing my second MA in Ed Admin with a principal's certification. I teach alternate days at two high schools within the same district, each with a different management styles but both have issues with freshmen.

My action research project concerns ninth grade teaming. A ninth grade center is not on the radar, so each school deals with freshman issues in its own way. I'm open to suggestions, because one of my schools tried teaming last year and was not pleased so the program is being revamped.