Link Crew

This week, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Malicke, and I all went out to North Farmington High School to hear a presentation about Link Crew. Link Crew is a freshman transition program that has been successfully implemented throughout the country. Over 1.7 million students are involved in this program this year. Here is the link for the informational site about Link Crew: The presentation was probably one of the more intersting things I ever heard. The teacher in charge of this crew at NFHS, Kevin Ozar, was so energetic and passionate about Link Crew that his thoughts and feelings transferred over to me. He sold this program so well. It is a program that will positively impact every single one of our students within the next four years. The only downside to this program is the cost, as I have mentioned before. However, after breaking it down with Mr. Malicke, we figured that it would basically be equivalent to spending $3.75 per student to improve their entire high school career. Money well spent if you ask me. We have also decided that Mr. Malicke will be taking the lead on this program. A better faculty representative could not have been chosen. Mr. Malicke is the epitome of a teacher who is in this business for all the right reasons. He has a great compassion for the students here and that will help lead to the success of this program here. The next step is a meeting next Tuesday with Mr. Stevens, Mr. Malicke, and Mr. Shannon to determine our next step. We need to figure out how to present this to the board and how to get funding for the project. That could prove to be difficult, but anything worthwhile usually is. Until next time...

My Pitch

So I pitched my idea to Mr. Stevens on Monday. Mr. Malicke came with me because he is very interested in this project as well. We spoke about the need for a freshman transition program here at BHS. It turns out that Mr. Stevens helped to bring a program like this to Romeo High School when he was the AP there. It is called "The Link Crew." He mentioned how this program was a great success and that it is something we should at least look at to see if it would work for us here.

I have looked into "The Link Crew" and found that it sounds like an awesome program. The only downside to it is that it will cost over $2,000 to train each staff member. We believe that we will need at least two staff members to run this program so we are looking at a bill of over $4,000. That is a lot of cash. On the website for this program, they have a page dedicated to how to raise funds for these costs. They suggest anything from seeking grants (hoping we don't have to do that because it is a huge process) to seeing if there are organizations within the school that would consider funding this program. Can you hear me Student Council?
Mr. Malicke and I also believe that our union may be able to donate some money towards this cause.

Our next step is for Mr. Stevens, Mr. Malicke, and myself to attend an informational meeting on October 15th at North Farmington High School. We will have a better idea if this truly is the program we want to pursue after that date.

Importance of Relationships

The Week of 09/16/13

I read a great article this week, but I am hesitant about how useful it will be for me as I proceed on this course. It is from the National Association of Secondary School Principals and it is entitled "Freshman Transition Programs: Long-Term and Comprehensive. It makes a point to say that transition programs need to be more than a one-day orientation showing students around the building and all that. It was interesting to read that this organization advocates the implementation of a year-long course where freshmen are taught "mentoring, life skills and information about why school and learning are important."

As great as a year-long course sounds, I don't believe it is feasible in the current financial situation our district finds itself in. There were some great ideas though. The takeaway from this article for me is how important the relationship that is fostered between staff members and students is towards retaining those students and seeing them through to graduation. The top three factors for dropping out, according to Lan and Lanthier, are poor school performance, attitude towards school, and relationships with teachers. I absolutely believe that the latter can drastically alter the former. When we develop a program here at BHS, I am certain that a key component of it needs to be that relationship piece between students and staff.

Freshman Mentoring

Wide eyed. Scared. Confused. Curious.  If you have ever been in a high school the first day of a new school year and looked at the face of a freshman, this is what you have seen. Making the transition from middle school to high school is a huge problem for many freshman. The school is bigger. The kids are bigger. The lunch line is bigger. The home work is bigger. EVERYTHING is bigger.

In the past at Brandon High School (to varying degrees of success), we have run some sort of freshman transition program. My feeling and the feeling of the teachers I talk to is that we need something in place for these freshman to make this crazy and hectic time in their lives a little less crazy and hectic. For the next 16 weeks, I will be researching different freshman transition programs around the country. I will read articles, talk to colleagues, discuss programs being run in other buildings with the people that run. I want to develop a program here at BHS that rocks. My ultimate goal is to have a plan, team, and program in place by the time the first semester is over. That will give us an entire semester to think about it and work out kinks. I hope to have this rolled out by the time school begins for the 2014-2015 school year.