Supporting Freshmen Through Their First Year Of High School: A Program Review

The research question this project explored was, do students and teachers perceive the PREP program to be effective in meeting the goals of a high school transition program? It documents one teacher’s mixed methods evaluation of the ninth grade transition support program she teaches based on student and teacher perceptual data gathered from surveys and interviews. It identifies the need for transition support programs in high schools, recommended structural changes for implementing transition programs, curricular recommendations for transition support courses and current transition support models in use around the country. The author then documents the results of her survey about the impact of the PREP program based on student and teacher feedback. She found that the program was meeting the major goals of developing academic, social/emotional and future planning skills in at-risk students while also providing a safe and supportive community of learners. The author concludes that all high schools ought to implement transition support services, that social/emotional skills development is critical for academic achievement, and that schools need not completely restructure in order to support students as they move into high school