SUMMARY: 9TH GRADE TRANSITION FOCUS GROUP MEETING 1/9/07

Present: Brian Levesque, RHS Principal; Kim Marinan, RHS Head of Guidance; Kent Batchelder, VCMS 8th Grade Guidance Counselor; Diane Eitelman, parent of VCMS and Northeast School students; Pegi Shea, parent of RHS & VCMS students and head of RHS Parent Group.

Objective: Update on current 9th grade transition measures; discussion of new ideas to ease transition from VCMS to RHS.

UPDATE

Small Learning Communities (SLC): Brian Levesque reported on the success of SLC pilot. (SLCs are similar to teams, with students having the same teachers for core subjects, affording more planning among teachers and enhanced communication with students.) SLC grades and test scores are similar to general population, however all SLC students take college courses. Attendance and good behavior are above the general population's.

Levesque said the administration is discussing expanding the SLC program to two groups (of about 120 freshman) in 2006-07. Parents are notified of their child's selection for SLC and have the opportunity to opt out. However, Kent Batchelder said many parents are requesting that their child be included in SLCs.

RHS Visitation for all 8th Graders: Last year, only a group of at-risk 8th graders visited RHS. This year all 8th graders will spend an entire morning at RHS, touring, attending an actual 80-minute class, eating in the cafeteria, etc. The visitation dates are: April 3, 4, 5 and April 10,11,12.

RHS & VCMS Guidance Meetings with 8th Graders: RHS guidance counselors visited 8th grade social studies classes in early January to talk about the transition process. Course recommendations and selections are scheduled at VCMS for the week before the 9th Grade Orientation night at RHS, January 25, 6pm. This will allow parents to meet and directly ask questions to RHS teachers present January 25. The RHS and VCMS department heads and guidance departments have been working together to discuss issues.

RHS Guidance Meetings with 9th Graders: Meetings will be scheduled with students to establish a “portfolio” of courses, career goals, etc. which they can update throughout their RHS experience.

Monthly K-12 Student Success Committee meetings: Ongoing meetings among Vernon School District administrators, which address issues including transitions from 5th to 6th grade, and 8th to 9th grade.

Attempt to Reinstate Freshman Sports: Freshman sports have been included in the RHS budget proposal for 2007-08. Town budget referendum is in May.

Creating Focus Group on Transition: First group meeting 1/9. Follow-up actions assigned. Group will give updates to RHS Parent Group and VCMS PTO.

Orientation Night: Scheduled January 9, 6pm. Presentations by Principal Levesque, Student Council, Guidance, Ag-Ed department, & Parent Group (PG). Each academic department will have displays and exhibits. The RHSPG will update and distribute Welcome Packets and record email addresses of interested new parents. Letters have gone out to parents of 8th graders about the event. Reminders will be sent home with course selection materials Jan. 19.

Orientation Day: scheduled for freshman before school opens for the entire RHS population. Activities will mainly be run by upperclassmen, and mentoring relationships will be established.

NEW IDEAS DISCUSSED

Increasing RHS Presence at VCMS: There are already outreach programs in band, chorus, language, agriculture departments. More departments, such as Tech Ed, may be interested in presenting at VCMS. Budget constraints and HS academic requirements currently prevent more interaction in the daytime. Still to be discussed are more after-school interactions with clubs such as Young Educators Society, Peer Advocates and Service Club.

Increasing Involvement of 8th Grade Parents: An email distribution list has been started with parents of both RHS and VCMS students, VCMS band and chorus parents and sports parents. They are currently receiving emails relevant to transition (such as this report). Attempts to increase list will continue via sports and activity opportunities. There will also be an insert in the Welcome Packet, inviting questions and feedback about Orientation night in January.

Publishing a Freshman Experience Magazine: A new magazine written by RHS upperclassmen will be distributed to graduating 8th graders. The magazine will have poems, humorous anecdotes, “do's and don't's”, etc. about freshman year. RHS English and Creative Writing teacher, Vicky Nordlund, is excited about the project, and is planning ways to solicit submissions.

Providing Translation Services: American Sign Language translators are already scheduled for Orientation Night. The focus group discussed having Spanish-speaking and Urdu-speaking upperclassmen on hand to translate specific questions following the presentations. Discussions will continue for further occasions for translation services, e.g. parent/teacher meetings, PPTs, etc. Language Department head Jaya Vijayaseker is interested in getting the International and Language Clubs involved.

Holding an Activities Fair: At Orientation Day in August, clubs, sports, and activities groups will have exhibits incoming freshman can visit to learn more about and sign up for extra-curricular activities.

The 9th Grade Transition Committee welcomes feedback on these measures and proposals for new initiatives. Contact Pegi Shea at pegideitzshea@aol.com!