Facilitating the Transition into Sixth and Ninth Grade

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Facilitating the Transition into Sixth and Ninth
Grade

• Kathleen M. Cauley
• Virginia Commonwealth University
• Prepared for the December 2003 MERC Policy and
  Planning Council Meeting

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Goals of Transition Programs

• Develop and implement effective activities
• Meet the needs and concerns of parents and
  students
• Awareness of the developmental changes students
  are experiencing at the same time
• Give additional attention to those who have
  greatest difficulty girls, students with
  behavior problems, low achievers (bottom
  quartile) and low SES/minority students

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Goals continued
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Research Findings

• Little work evaluating transition programs.
  Available data is from large scale, national
  surveys, mostly about high school
• Main findings
• The more diverse activities included in the
  program, the better (MacIver Epstein, 1990)
• Suburban schools have more extensive programs
  than urban schools (MacIver Epstein, 1990)
• exception is urban schools in Maryland that are
  under pressure to reform (Letgers Kerr, 2000)

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Research Findings

• Main findings
• Activities need to encompass students, parents,
  teachers, counselors, administrators (Smith,
  1997)
• Student and parent concerns about academics,
  procedures, and social issues should be addressed
• Teachers and counselors are important to prepare
  students to leave and as a support system in the
  fall
• Activities need to occur in the spring and summer
  before transition, and the during fall in the new
  school (Newman et. al 2000)

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Needs/Concerns of Adolescents

• Identified from surveys of adolescents
• Academic school work and teacher expectations
• Procedural/organizational getting around the
  new school
• Social teacher and student relationships
• Kids say social concerns are least often addressed

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Impact of Developmental Changes

• Developmental changes can make it harder to
  adjust to systemic changes
• Puberty
• Cognitive Development
• Peer Relationships
• Identity
• Some students can cope with multiple changes
  better than others

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Developing a Transition Plan

• Establish a transition team of counselors,
  teachers, students, parents (The Smooth Move
  Committee)
• Identify activities needed for Spring, Summer,
  and Fall.
• Address academic, procedural, and social concerns
• Different levels of activities may be needed, as
  students have different coping strategies.
  At-risk and special needs students may need more
  support
• Evaluate how the program is working

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Sample Activities Meet Academic Needs

• Teachers (including special education teachers )
  and counselors from exiting and receiving schools
  meet about courses, requirements, expectations,
  etc.
• Provide classroom guidance lessons for teachers
  on issues such as good study skills,
  organizational skills to get homework done, etc.

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Sample Activities Meet Procedural Needs

• Introduction to Middle (High) School video of
  A Day in the Life, panels of students,
  handbook, discuss coping skills, etc.
• Locker night tours, walk through schedule,
  meet teachers, etc. Some schools turn this into
  a whole day orientation with mini-classes
• During first week student ambassadors to answer
  questions, help the lost, etc.

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Sample Activities Meet Social Needs

• Open House, picnic, breakfast over the summer for
  students and parents to meet teachers,
  counselors, administrators. Tours, visit
  classrooms, etc.
• Big brother/sister programs or peer mentoring
  programs during fall
• Encourage involvement in extracurricular
  activities
• Teachers and/or counselors advise new students
  deal with friendship issues, coping strategies,
  etc.
• Freshmen only activities

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Sample Activities Involving Parents

• Small group meetings with parents regarding
  school curriculum, policies, etc.
• Opportunities for parents of incoming students to
  talk with parents of current sixth/ninth graders
• Workshops Understanding your Middle (High)
  School student Homework, extracurricular,
  developmental changes, and how the school is
  addressing concerns

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Sample Activities Comprehensive Approach

• School within a school 9th grade academies
• 9th graders separated from rest of high school,
  dedicated teachers, teaming, integrated
  curriculum, support
• geared toward students needs addresses all
  areas of concern
• requires resources, dedicated teachers,
  counselors, etc.

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Conclusions

• Focus on developing a comprehensive program, with
  more than 4-5 activities
• The literature has a wide variety of ideas to
  match to the needs of different student
  populations.
• Be sure to address academic, procedural and
  social concerns
• Involve students, parents, teachers, etc.
• Continue activities into the fall