Freshmen Transition Advisory Program: Achievement, Aptitude and Attitude

157 p.Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2005.At Contemporary High School a small group of students were identified as failing multiple courses; investigation revealed that attendance and/or disciplinary issues were not the cause. After working with the students, the reason was clear. The students did not care, and they believed no one else did either. Counselors and administrators worked together to reach out to these students to identify their needs and design a program. The initial response was a Developmental Guidance Program to improve teacher/student relationships. The intervention generated positive results leading the team to believe that if this was good for a few then possibly it would be good for the entire freshmen class. In order to reach a large group of students, various programs were reviewed and it became apparent that a Developmental Guidance Teacher Advisory approach would meet the school and students' needs. Student mentors and Teacher Advisors were solicited to participate in a daily format to improve freshmen students' academic skills, behavioral expectations and increase school pride. After several attempts to implement an intervention, the Transition Advisory Program evolved after meeting contractual, budgetary, personnel, curricular, and time constraints. This study has examined the positive changes in performance of the students as well as the impact on the school environment: specifically behavior, academic, and climate. The story and documentation of these events gives light and direction to those school leaders who would attempt to replicate this program in their school. It also frames specific questions that administrators or leadership should ask and reflect on before moving forward.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD