Fall, 2001, No. 11 National Network of Partnership Schools
Help Students and Families Make Successful Transitions to Middle and High School
Steven B. Sheldon
Postdoctoral Research ScientistMoving to a new school often produces a mix of fear and excitement in students and in families. Research suggests that students’ success in school is determined not only by academic skills, but also by students’ social and emotional well-being, including the successful adjustment to a new school environment. Indeed, poor adjustment in school is associated with students’ lower sense of self worth, lower academic achievement, and dropping out.
Increasing numbers of schools are preparing students and families to understand the demands and opportunities they will meet at their new schools. Action Teams for Partnerships may help students and families navigate the transition into middle or high school with well-designed activities that occur before the transition is made. Several schools in the National Network of Partnership Schools have implemented practices to increase students’ successful transitions.
From Elementary to Middle School
To help their students and families transition into middle school more smoothly, Monica Leary Elementary School in Rush, NY arranges for sixth graders to return to speak to the fifth grade class about what to expect the following year. In addition, parents of former graduates talk with parents whose children will soon move into middle school, share their experiences, and explain what to expect from their children and from the middle school staff.
Altoona Middle School in Altoona, WI arranges for current fourth graders to walk through the middle school’s fifth grade classrooms and meet the teachers. Before the school year begins, parents and students are given class schedules, invited to try new locker combinations, and see where their classes will be located. Families also are given information about how to help their children succeed in middle school. At the fall conferences, parents and students are surveyed about their experiences of transitioning into middle school so that the school can improve the process for the next class of fifth graders.
From Middle to High School
Colerain High School in Cincinnati, OH conducts several activities to ease families’ transitions to high school. Prospective families and students are invited to tour the high school in the spring and meet with administrators, and are mailed the high school’s newsletter to help them learn about its programs and opportunities. When new students enroll, their families receive a packet of information on summer camps and school activities such as athletics, music and band, and clubs. Parents coming from a private or parochial school receive a personal phone call from a high school parent whose children previously attended a private or parochial grade school to welcome them, answer questions, and ease anxiety.
Make Successful Transitions a Goal
This fall is the right time for Action Teams for Partnerships to review their One-Year Action Plans for the 2001-2002 school year, and add activities that will help graduating students and families learn about what lies ahead in the new schools they will attend. Action plans also may include activities for incoming students and their families. The most effective transition activities result from a good partnership between feeder schools and receiver schools.
The National Network of Partnership Schools provides additional information on family and community involvement activities for students’ successful transitions. Visit www.partnershipschools.org, and click on the Middle and High School section for goal-oriented activities linked to successful transitions.
