"Transition Resources for Parents, Teachers, and Administrators" written by Matt Davis was a great read for me because I am in the process of bringing a program called Link Crew to my high school. I think, as educators, we need to be conscious of our student's struggles and challenges outside of our classrooms and what is REALLY important to them. I think it is very easy to get into a routine and forget that the new class of 9th graders is scared to death and don't know where the cafeteria is--that is always more important than a syllabus and parent signature on the first day! By helping our students transition into these new environments, we are setting them up for success and helping the teachers do their job and do it well. My school has no type of a transition program, so Link Crew is going to be perfect for us! We will have about 30 junior/senior leaders that get set up with a group of 8-10 freshman. They will do a before school orientation with them and will keep up with them the entire year. We, as teachers, need to promote community and eencourage student leaders to step up and be that voice, because let's be honest, many students would rather take advice from a fellow student and not a teacher! This article shared resources for all the education transitions that happen in a student's life. I know I remember my first day of high school and how scared I was! Making that transition smoother makes for a better year ahead!

Davis, Matt. "Transition Resources for Parents, Teachers, and Administrators." Edutopia. Edutopia, 16 May 2013. Web. 16 May 2013.

UnknownMay 19, 2013 at 2:19 PM
I love the idea of the transition program. My middle child is entering high school this fall. This will be the first year they created what they are calling "Freshman Academy." There will be a special orientation for them, they will have mentors and the classes will be separate from the general population. I teach kindergarten which is a whole other world from high school. But as your students are wrapping up their education, mine are beginning their journey. We transition in kindergarten, but I feel not enough. I think that kindergarten students should have a longer transition time than the 2 days we give them. Life is all about transitions, but we need to give the kids a foundation on how to best deal with them.