Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Freshman Transition Program
Freshman Transition Program
FTP
@
CHS
Freshman Transition Program
2013 2014
Purpose
As a Coppell High School family, we seek to create an environment that helps to orient and to connect freshman learners to our high school culture while promoting student leadership, academic achievement, and personal success. The Freshman Transition Program (FTP) was established to: ease learners into the Coppell High School culture provide freshman learners with healthy academic and personal support structures expand leadership opportunities for upperclassmen build a safe and nurturing community interconnect all learners, educators, and administrators ensure on-going support and continuous evaluation for freshman learners.
The ultimate goal of The Freshman Transition Program is to help all students build their learner capacity and foster a sense of family necessary for a productive high school experience.
Evidence of Need
A pool of learners, parents, educators, and administrators contributed valuable information to the development of The FTP through committees, surveys, and research. Based on the information provided, the following represents the need for a comprehensive program to support our freshman learners: Learners are over-committed in extracurricular activities Learners are over-extended in academics Learners are not organized; Learners do not manage time wisely Learners are overwhelmed by the size of CHS; learners experience culture shock Learners are not prepared for the learner expectations of rigorous courses High-risk learners need more of our attention Learners must learn to advocate for their needs within the learning environment; Learners lack motivation Educators & administrators need to have healthy, continuous conversations about freshman learners Learners do not know what to do when they are struggling or falling behind, both academically and personally; Educators & administrators must be prepared to assist these learners.
Program Phases
Prior to Freshman Transition Week:* August Fish Camp Annual schedule pick up and building orientation Educators Training & Development We will train and develop educators on The FTP during the August staff development week. The training and development information is detailed in Appendix D. Peer Leader Training & Development We will train and develop selected upperclassmen to co-facilitate Keystone Sessions during the first weeks of school. The training and development information is detailed in Appendix D.
Freshman Transition Week (during the school day):* A Freshman Lunch Section We will designate the small commons as the freshman area for the first five days of school. Cowboy Spirit Camp We will expose learners to the Coppell Way. In a fun, studentdriven, and student-centered way, we will teach the school song, the school history (Plunger Boy, Silver Spurs, etc.), school traditions (cheers, game responses, etc.). This experience will be hosted during 4th period lunches in the freshman lunch section. The CHS spirit committees will present the Cowboy Spirit Camp. Keystone Sessions We will invest two days of learner-centered AM/PM sessions at the start of the school year to reflect learner needs for our freshman community. The keystone sessions are detailed in Appendix B. A sample schedule is outlined in Appendix C. The Partial Integration Plan for the 2013-2014 school year is detailed in Appendix E. [Full Integration Proposed for the FTP 2014 2015 Implementation Phase]
Freshman Transition Week (after the school day):* Parent Communication Meeting & Panel We will provide a meeting to help ease parents through the freshman transition. The theme: Surviving Your Learners Freshman Year Freshman Mixer We will culminate the weeks activities with a freshman event (fundraising event, dance, BBQ, field day, lock-in, etc.). We will provide learners with a tshirt for attending. [Proposed for the FTP 2014 2015 Implementation Phase]
*Dates and times for the 2013 2014 Freshman Transition Week can be found in Appendix F
Protocol: In order to best meet the needs of all of our learners, the following learner protocol represents the steps we must take when a learner is at-risk: A) Discuss the concern and develop solutions with the learner, and in most cases, include the parent(s) in the initial communication as well. The initiating educator must document the date and details of the student conference. B) Collaborate with the learners educators and administrative team to gather commonalities and to highlight the concern. This step will ensure that all educators are aligned. The initiating educator must document the date and details of the teams communication. If the problem persists or becomes worse within the next two weeks (10 class days), the educator and administrative team must: Initiate the RTI Process. Include the parent(s) in all communication concerning the issue. Schedule a face-to-face conference that includes the learner, parent(s), educator(s), and a member of the administrative team to develop solutions to best meet the needs of the learner.
Additional Support Structures: Contact the LINK Mentorship Program sponsor for additional peer support for the learner Coordinate with the educator/administrative team to assign a campus mentor. (It is recommended that the campus mentor not be a part of the learners educator/administrative team.)
Day Two Morning Schedule (Day Two sessions are student-choice seminars that each freshman must attend). Students will use the Sched App to register for the student-choice seminars and an attendance list will be created for each session. Period 1 ~ 8:20 a.m. 9:12 a.m. Period 2 ~ 9:18 a.m. 10:10 a.m. Period 3 ~ 10:20 a.m. 11:12 a.m. Day Two Learners will be provided with the schedule of their student-choice selections during the Day One session. Learners must have all student-choice sessions selected two (2) days before the rotation. Ideally, schedule selection would be driven through a content class, but can also be arranged during all lunches. Learners will attend their chosen sessions based on their schedule.
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Keystone Sessions We will invest one day of learner-centered sessions to reflect learner needs at for our freshman community. All freshman learners will rotate through the mandatory keystone sessions on a one-day rotation schedule date designated by the administration. The mandatory sessions include: Organization & Time Management; The Educator & Learner Interaction; and Cowboy Family Connection. For the 2013-2014 implementation, the sessions will be prepared in advanced for the rotation day. The FTP development committee will meet to create the keystone presentations to be facilitated by the presenting freshman educators. If possible, educators are encouraged to recruit a senior learner to co-facilitate the session as an educator-learner team. The keystone presentations will be made public for parent, learner, and educator access throughout the school year. The keystone sessions will end with an opportunity for feedback from educators and learners to use in the 2014-2015 implementation plan.
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