Working together to transition freshmen & transform schools from the bottom up!

March 2009 Blog Posts (4)

Part 4 – Creating a Freshman Transition Program – Which students?

Early in the process of creating a Freshman Transition Program most schools begin planning for which students will be a part of the program. Before sharing some ways to look at this question, let me first state 2 common pitfalls that schools fall into when answering this question.

Pitfall 1 – Starting with only the most “at-risk” students.

A program like this is destined for a stigma. Parents and students alike will not want to be a part of it. Teachers will not want to… Continue

Added by Scott Habeeb on March 22, 2009 at 10:52pm — No Comments

Part 3 – Creating a Freshman Transition Program – The Pros and Cons of the Departmentalized Approach

In my last post I discussed the pros and cons of the Freshman Academy approach to Freshman Transition. I defined the Freshman Academy as a method of easing the transition from middle school to high school that uses locale as its primary means. In other words, freshmen in the Academy model are separated from the rest of the high school for some period of time during the day. I ended that post by stating… Continue

Added by Scott Habeeb on March 15, 2009 at 10:08pm — No Comments

Part 2 - Creating a Freshman Transition Program - Pros and Cons of an Academy

To have an Academy or not to have an Academy? That is the question.

These days when schools create Freshman Transition Programs they often use the term Freshman Academy to name their efforts. This post’s purpose will be to discuss the pros and cons of such an approach, and to introduce an alternative model.

First, let me define what I mean by the term Freshman Academy. A Freshman Academy is a means of easing the transition from middle school to high school that uses locale… Continue

Added by Scott Habeeb on March 12, 2009 at 9:23pm — 1 Comment

Part 1 - Creating a Freshman Transition Program

My plan is to post a series of blog posts about creating a Freshman Transition Program in your school. I’m going to start at the beginning and go through some recommendations step-by-step. These ideas are based on my experience at my own school (Salem High School in Salem, VA) and on my experiences as a consultant for Solutions, etc. working with numerous schools in 18 states. I hope you’ll find these ideas and… Continue

Added by Scott Habeeb on March 8, 2009 at 10:30pm — 4 Comments