HAND OFF…THE

LINKING FRESHMEN FOR SUCCESS!

• Link Crew is a research-based year long freshmen transition program from the Boomerang Project in California.

• Specially trained Junior/Senior Link Leaders mentor each freshmen.

• Student driven program with a series of academic and social follow-ups.

WELCOME TO G.H.S.

• Our Freshmen are greeted in August with enthusiasm!

• The four hour action packed Freshmen Orientation is just the beginning.

• There are 2 Link Leaders per 7 to 8 freshmen that are specially trained for Orientation as well as subsequent activities throughout the school year.

Link Crew Time Line

• March: Link Basic Training (3 days)• April: Staff Tell and Sell

– Recruitment of Potential Leaders– Informational Meetings for Leaders– Final Selection (cross-section of school)– Letters to Parent(s) of Leaders with

commitment information.

• May: Leader/Incoming Freshmen Info.– May Development Day with Leaders– Orientation Invitations given out personally

to eighth grade students.– “Save the Date” letter to eighth grade

parents regarding Link Orientation.

• Summer: PLAN, PLAN,PLAN!!!• August: More Organizing!

– Reminders to Link Leaders about training– Mailing to incoming freshmen– Two day Link training for Orientation– Link Leaders call to personally invite their

freshmen in their group– Orientation with lunch provided

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– Link Leaders call the night before school– Leaders wear Link T-shirts on first day of

school for easy identification for assistance– Follow-up phone calls after a week of

school

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• September-December: Motivate– Personal contacts to freshmen– Organized Academic and Social Follow-

ups– Keep the momentum going from action

packed Orientation

• December: First Final Exams– Get Final Exam packages ready for Freshmen– Plan and advertise Cocoa and Cram– Study Tips are given on-line and on posters in the

hallways

• January-March: Wean/Prepare for Take Off– Activities will be thinking about next year and

preparing to “fly solo”.– Finish Academic Follow-ups

• April: Start all over again…..

Positives

-Gives permission for upperclassmen to care about freshmen potentially changing the culture of our high school.

-Provides a crucial backbone of support for transitioning students

-Link Leaders are motivators, positive role models that actually learn a lot about themselves in the process of helping others.

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• WE HAVE EXCELLENT ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT THAT ALLOWS US TO MEET TWICE PER MONTH FOR LINK ADVISORY DURING THE SCHOOL DAY. THIS IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAM!!!

Things to work on….

• How do we maintain the excitement of Orientation throughout the school year?

• We just keep revising our training for the already busy Leaders to be more productive and efficient.

• We need to be patient and continue to be self-reflective as well as welcome feedback from staff.

Program Feedback

• Parent Comments:– “I am so grateful that GHS has started Link

Crew. My freshmen says that she does not feel threatened at all by the upper class students. She was hesitant and nervous just before school started. She feels very differently now!”

• “I think it’s awesome! It helps the freshmen to be guided in the right direction. It is especially helpful for the ones who are scared because they are no longer the 8th grade top-dogs.”

Teacher/Administrator Comments:

• “What a great way to start the year! The freshmen were definitely more relaxed on the first day of school.”

• In my classroom, the freshmen acted as if they felt they belonged at the high school. It seemed like they were ready to take ownership of what they were about to do.”

• “Having all of the Link Leaders wear their t-shirts on the first day was the best!!!”.

Link Leader Comments

• “The spirit in the Orientation was hyped and really welcoming.”

• “I really enjoyed the time to begin to build relationships with freshmen. The activities we did helped everyone participate and feel comfortable enough to talk.”

• “I am learning so much about being a leader and I enjoy talking with the freshmen. I have really grown as a person by putting myself out there with this.”

Freshmen Comments:

• “The tour really helped me know my way around the school. The lunch was great!”.

• “I like knowing that there is an upper class student who knows me and who I can talk to about problems at school.”

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• “I liked how my leader called me the night before school started. She even told me where she would be before school if I wanted to find her.”

• We are still learning a lot about how to make this program fit our high school, however, we are off to a really positive start and it will just keep getting better each year!!!

• More Information? BoomerangProject.org; • mrice@dist228.org; cewert@dist228.org

Thank you!!!!