Does Freshman Orientation have an effect on how successfully students transition from middle school to high school?
Needs Assessment: As a new high school campus we wanted to ensure that school traditions and pride were quickly established. One of the ways we set about doing that was through a series of Fish Camps. This was an opportunity for campus student leadership to instill the values and mission of the school in a fun and exciting way. After several successful years of Fish Camp the other high school’s in our district started asking for information regarding the types of activities we did, how our time was used, what funds were needed, etc. It was decided that a Freshman Day would be established throughout the district and our Fish Camp would be used as a primary model for activities.
While it was a specific situational need that first brought about the establishment of Fish Camps on our campus, the need for a smooth transition from middle school to high school is well documented. This includes an achievement loss that is associated with the middle school to high school transition, dropout and retention rates associated with the disparity between 8th grade and 9th grade performance, self-perception of academic abilities by 9th graders and a number of other factors.
Disaggregated data from previous TAKS scores as well as the National Center for Education Statistics show that 8th grade students in Texas have made some gains, the achievement gap between White and non-White students and not economically disadvantaged and economically disadvantaged students has not closed substantially on either the NAEP or the TAKS since 2003. This achievement gap is also reflected in 9th grade scores. While this is only one source of information it does give cause to further examine this achievement gap. Further data that is specific to my campus is needed in this area.
In 2007, my campus began collecting data from our feeder middle schools to determine what perceptions and concerns existed amongst our incoming freshman. Our results largely reflected the concerns expressed by students across the country. Students were concerned about liking their teachers, getting lost, being picked on by upper classman, who they would eat lunch with, more rigorous coursework, etc. (see figure below).
Degree of Concern as Identified by Incoming Freshman in 2007
At Guyer High School
Objectives and Vision: Freshman Day will be an event that not only orients incoming Freshman regarding the school rules and procedures but rather the beginning of a series of transition tools that will aide to alleviate the concerns of incoming Freshman as well as provide the needed support for success throughout their 9th grade year. This success will establish a sound foundation for future high school achievement as well. Freshman Day will assist students in alleviating their major concerns in a non-threatening environment wherein only incoming 9th graders will receive orientation information, locate all eight of their classes, meet all of their teachers, receive and locate books, lockers, lunch assignments, etc. without the distraction, crowding and feeling of intimidation that comes with a traditional first day of school. No upper-classman will be on campus for Freshman Day with the exception of student leaders who are trained to provide orientation information, assist in locating classrooms and give information regarding what to expect from a students perspective.
I predict that there will be gains made in the following areas:
-Concern regarding upper-classman bullying will decrease by at least 20%
-Concern regarding teacher assignment will decrease by at least 35%
-Concern regarding getting lost will decrease by at least 20%
-Concern regarding class difficulty will decrease by at least 10%
Review of the Literature and Action Research Strategy:
As previously stated, this project arose organically out of a need at our campus. A number of people were involved in the planning process including student organization leaders, key freshman teachers, administrators and counselors. We considered a gamut of information including surveys of incoming freshman as well as a variety of concerns held by administrators, counselors, staff members and upper-classmen. There was a vast number of concerns that were raised regarding topics that most Freshman seemed to not fully understand including how GPA’s are calculated, what credits were needed for graduation, our very specific cafeteria guidelines, the array of extra-curricular activities available as well as school traditions including the school song, fight song, wildcat symbol, etc.
These individuals comprised a committee that further explored which topics could be covered, the best ways to cover these topics, resources that would be needed and how effective they might be. For example, with such a vast array of topics there is a great possibility for overloading and further intimidating freshman, which is the opposite of what we were trying to achieve through our efforts. Scheduling was also a concern. Our district is on block scheduling and we wanted students to be able to locate all of their classes and meet all of their teachers.
Eventually we decided that finding classes and meeting teachers was a primary goal and that the schedule must reflect this need. After that was established it was easier to sort through which activities would be the most beneficial and feasible given the scheduling constraints.
Alspaugh, John W. (1998). Achievement loss associated with the transition in middle school to high school. The journal of educational research. Volume 92, Issue 1, p. 20-25.
Hertzog, Jay C. and Morgan, Lena P. (1998). Breaking barriers between middle school and high school: developing a transition team for student success. NASSP bulletin. Volume 82, number 587, p. 94-98.
Mizelle, Nancy B and Irvin, Judith L. (2000). Transition from middle school to high school. what research says. Middle school journal. Volume 31, number 5, p. 57-61.
Articulate the Vision: The current results of this action research plan have been shared with administrators, teachers and some school board members as well as the superintendent of our district although that was not the original intent. Initial results were shared with my campus administration in a fairly informal way. From there, a series of meetings developed involving more administrators, members of the counseling team and other student leadership sponsors. Eventually, more formal presentations were given to the entire teaching staff in order to prepare them for the events of Freshman Day and help them understand the need for this change and what role they would play in facilitating it. Results were also shared with parents via letter, e-alert and website postings as well as presentations at PTSA meetings.
Future dissemination will be done in a variety of ways including oral, written and electronically. As we seek to further improve our annual Freshman Day additional oral presentations will occur in the form of meetings with the administration and counseling staff as well as presentations to the staff. As in the past, written communication will be maintained with parents via letters, e-alerts and website postings. In addition to these communications I will also post my action research results on my academic blog to share with other administrators and teachers. My campus also maintains a Facebook page that I will use to post important segments of my action research results to request feedback from the student body and parents.
Manage the organization and operations: As previously noted, a team of student leaders, Freshman teachers, administrators and counselors formed the committee that made decisions to build consensus, communicate with stakeholders as well as manage funds and other resources. Myself along with my Student Council co-sponsor at the time, Lisa Hurst took on the responsibility of training student leadership, assembling needed materials to cover the chosen topics, test run all of the activities, manage the orientation assembly and generally provide guidance and continuity for the entire days efforts. Counseling staff took the responsibility of assembling and managing the assembly of information packets, folders and schedule pick-up as well as creating the necessary visual aides regarding GPA and course requirements. Amanda Goss, Freshman English Teacher, took on the task of creating the GPA game to be used in classes and Bridget Matamoros, Freshman Math teacher, took on the task of assembling the guided walk-through of cafeteria procedures. Barbara Fischer, school principal, assumed the responsibility of finding and allocating appropriate funds for the day. We operated as a team with both myself and Lisa Hurst overseeing the operation and ensuring that things were coordinated efficiently and appropriately.
Respond to Community Interest/Needs: This entire project is aimed at a specific group. The retention rate of 9th graders is tied to achievement loss as well as low graduation rates. Freshman Day is aimed as a first step among a series of support mechanisms to help transition 8th graders into the high school environment. Response to all stakeholders can be seen clearly through the data analysis and annual revision and improvement process pursued by our committee since the inception of Freshman Day in 2007.
