Help kids more effectively transition from middle to high school.
Moving from middle school to high school means more than just changing buildings. Making this transition, for many, means taking even more control over their individual educational processes, becoming more independent learners and preparing to tackle the almost total autonomy of college. To make this transition a less painful one, schools can work to break down the natural barriers that exist between these two school types. In doing so, they can allow their students to move between the two with less trepidation.
Instructions
1. Arrange shadowing opportunities. Allow middle school students to spend days in the shoes of high schoolers through shadowing. Allow all students to shadow, or select specific students who seem ill-prepared for the transition for this unique experience. Offering shadowing is a particularly good idea if your students can choose between several high schools.
2. Preview high school lessons for students. Get students more excited about the move to high school with lesson previews. Borrow a particularly engaging lesson from a high school teacher, and present part of it to middle school students, making them eager to approach this new learning frontier.
3. Arrange a meet and greet with high school teachers. Prepare a breakfast meeting in which middle school students and their parents can meet the teachers who work in the high school. This activity ensures that students have some familiar faces when they walk into high school on that first day.
4. Pair pupils with established high schoolers. Ask your highest-performing high school students to partner with reluctant middle schoolers, showing them the ropes of the new school and making them feel less alone as they make their transitions.
5. Provide support to students during the transition. Introduce new high school students to their counselors on the first day, and have these counselors check in regularly during the first week or two of high school classes. By providing this support, you can make the middle-to-high school transition a bit smoother.
Tags: high school, school students, high school, middle school, middle school students, from middle, high school students