Many ninth-grade students spend the summer before high school enjoying their brief freedom from academics and anticipating their first day at a new school.
“I think their biggest fear is not fitting in in that type of setting,” says Carl Svagerko, principal of Whitehall-Yearling High School in Ohio. The students are older and incoming freshmen may worry about who they are and how other students are going to perceive them.
But some freshmen are already hitting the books at their new school through summer bridge and transition programs, which are designed to help ninth-grade students successfully make the leap from middle to high school.
In Ohio, Svagerko’s school recently held a three-week summer bridge program for incoming freshmen. Students spent half the day at their new school brushing up on academics, completing a reading project, making new friends, getting to know their new teachers and learning the ins and outs of high school life, among other activities.
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Svagerko thinks the program has helped the new students improve their self-esteem so that they aren’t as nervous to start high school.
Ninth grade is an important — and sometimes difficult — year for students, and how a student performs academically in ninth grade can be an indicator of whether he or she will graduate.
Some districts have introduced summer bridge programs as a way to prevent dropouts. But even at schools without these programs, teachers and administrators can still use the following strategies to help ease the transition to high school for freshmen.
— Have a freshmen-only first day or days of school: Without the upperclassmen around, ninth-grade students can become familiar with the building, find their lockers, scope out their classrooms and meet their teachers, says Svagerko.
Students could also attend simulated classes, he says, where they participate in team building activities. Middle school conflict often continues into high school, so an initial program could help ease students in and make them feel more comfortable.
— Create a familial and supportive environment: On the first day, high school teachers could welcome freshmen to their class with a fun ice breaker that shows off their personality, says Delorean Hogan, linked learning counselor at Westside High School in Houston. She also coordinates the school’s summer bridge program.
Then, she says, the classroom won’t just be a space for learning, but a caring, fun and enriching environment for everyone. “When they come back the next day, they feel a little better,” she says.
— Be kind and patient: Teachers shouldn’t make students feel as if they are on opposite sides, says Svagerko. He asks his teachers to be patient, to avoid challenging their students and to ease them into the work during the first few days. Build on that social and emotional growth for the first couple of weeks, he says.
“They are still little kids,” he says. “Let’s not treat them as little kids, but let’s be mindful that they are youngsters and they are not even driving a car yet.”
[Find out how mentoring programs aim to increase high school graduates.]
— Get the upperclassmen to help out: At Svagerko’s school, seniors help welcome the freshmen during the first couple days of school.
The school’s senior ambassadors, as they are called, wear different color shirts so that the freshmen know that that’s a friendly face they can walk up to and ask where the lunch line is or the location of a particular classroom, he says. It shows the freshmen that the older students aren’t mean; they are there to help.
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Summer Bridge Programs Help Ease Freshmen Into High School originally appeared on usnews.com
