The Secret Ingredients to Freshman Success

1. The Secret Ingredientsto Freshman Success Nicole Congine, Freshman Class Sponsor Melissa Doucet, Middle School Counselor Donna Kline, Freshman Academy Coordinator Michelle Vaughn, Freshman Counselor

2. Focus Group Findings:Concerns about Transition to Ninth Grade • High level of immaturity and irresponsibility • Weakness in skills, such as note-taking, critical thinking, and study skills • Weakness in basic skills in grammar, writing, reading, and math

3. Increase in number of repeaters • Limited number of teachers who want to teach 9th grade • High number of disciplinary infractions (i.e. tardies, dress code, etc.) • Too little communication with parents

4. Too little communication with middle school teachers • Most 9th graders do not understand the high school grading policy (cumulative grades as opposed to the nine-week grading period in middle school)

5. TLT: Transition Leadership Team • Comprised of administrators, counselors, and key teachers from middle and high school • Meet together monthly to discuss academic, social, and organizational transition from 8th to 9th grade – form an articulation agreement between feeder(s) and high school

6. November: 8th Grade Parent Meeting at Middle School • LA Core 4 Curriculum • TOPS • Value of rigorous classes • EXPLORE test results (how to interpret and utilize them)

7. March: 8th Grade Parent Meeting at High School • Review of LA Core 4 Curriculum, TOPS • Value of rigorous classes in preparing for ACT, PSAT, SAT • Scheduling process for 9th grade • Showcase of extracurricular activities

8. March: Scheduling of 9th grade (at middle school) • Team of counselors and administrators from middle and high school (TLT) will spend one day working one-on-one with each 8th grader to create a schedule • Utilize report cards and EXPLORE results to drive decisions on taking honors classes

9. May: Distribution of Summer packets to 8th Graders • High school summer reading list • Honors assignments for summer • Sports information (LHSAA forms, summer workout schedule, etc.) • List of extracurricular clubs • Calendar for Freshman Orientation, Parent University, Freshman Only Day

10. June: Summer Bridge Class for “at-risk” students • 20 hours abbreviated course to help transition for low-achievers

11. July: Abbreviated Education for Careers for Honors Students • Two weeks prior to first day of school • Open to 9th graders who have scheduled 3-4 honors classes • Held daily from 12:00-2:00 p.m. • Not for credit, but will allow students to take a foreign language their 9th grade year

12. July: Freshman Teachers’ Retreat • review/update team expectations • discuss curriculum changes • plan for the upcoming school year

13. Late July: Freshman Orientation/ Parent University Session I • Two sessions: A-K from 9:00-11:00 M-Z from 1:00-3:00 • General session followed by 1) paying school fees 2) schedule and book pick-up 3) I.D.’s made • Parent University sessions held in computer labs to go over JPAMS Parent Command Center, Moodle, LAePortal usage, etc.

14. Peer Mentoring • Jr. & Sr. students apply to be a mentor in April • Selected by whole faculty • Arranged into teams of 5-6 mentors • Teams selected by the ninth grade teachers • Meet periodically in the summer to plan Freshmen Only Day

15. Freshmen Only Day • Held from 8:30 am - 2:00 pm • Activities: • Icebreakers (getting to know you) • Pep rally • Informal talk about school rules • Orientation to meet administration • School Tours • Run through of schedules with bells

16. Freshmen Only Day

17. Freshmen Only Day Agenda

18. Freshmen Only Day Agenda

19. Monthly Mentoring Sessions • Embedded in the school day • Second Tuesday of every month for 40 minutes • Sessions: • 1st (October) • Goal setting, grades, behavior, attendance tracking and learning styles inventory • 2nd (November) • GPA calculations and admission requirements for colleges

20. Other Mentoring Benefits • Plan and organize a Freshman Tailgate • Additional study buddies • Have a “friend” on campus • Provide an extra “set of eyes” • Teach the mentors leadership skills

21. Daily Teaming M,W,F – core area interdisciplinary teams T, Th – subject area teams– PLC work

22. H.E.A.T.Help Eliminate Academic Tardiness • HEAT is a lunchtime detention assigned to students who miss homework assignments. • Students eat a bag lunch while completing their homework.

24. Vertical Teaming between 8th and 9th grade teachers Held in spring after testing week Paid substitutes for core teachers Meet in central location for a day of working together

25. “Thumbs Up” meetings • Held twice a month to make sure that all students on each team receive needed attention.

26. Parent University Classes • Homework Tips for Parents • Using PSAT Results • Preparing for ACT-online prep • Accelerated Reader web-based version • Teen issues, such as Internet safety, cyber bullying, drinking, drug use

27. Parent University Classes • Using academic databases for research (World Book Online, EBSCO) • JPAMS Parent Command Center, Moodle, LAePortal • Surviving Mid-terms

34. Contact Information: • Donna Kline, Freshman Academy Coordinator Donna.Kline@zacharyschools.org • Michelle Vaughn, Freshman Counselor Michelle.Vaughn@zacharyschools.org • Nicole Congine, Freshman Class Sponsor Nicole.Congine@zacharyschools.org • Melissa Doucet, Middle School Counselor Melissa.Doucet@zacharyschools.org