April 24, 2017

Hello Dr. McAllister,

As we have been thinking about how to best support our students during their move to middle school,
we have taken our lead from some of the industry leaders. A well-designed transition plan can restore
the strong sense of belonging the entering middle school student once felt in elementary school a key
element associated with the positive motivation to enjoy and succeed in academic tasks. The young
adolescent must feel successful in school, have opportunities for self-expression and decision-making,
and feel cared for and respected as a person (Supporting Students in Their Transition to Middle School,
a joint position paper by NMSA and NAESP).

Peter Lorain (retired MS principal) had a good summary of the goals of a comprehensive program
(www.nea.org/tools/16657.htm).

Helping students form a realistic expectation of what middle school will be like
Providing a positive and successful first impression
Insuring a successful introduction to the middle school experience
Including extensive participation of parents

As we prepare our fifth grade students for the rigors of middle school, we have several goals for the
fifth grade year beyond the standard curriculum, including:

Increased levels of collaboration with peers

Accountable to multiple teachers
Intensified expectations for performance longer-term projects, more detailed research
Increased levels of individual responsibility and additional leadership opportunities
Improved organization binders, agendas, homework

May 2017 In preparation for the middle school orientation activities, we suggest the following steps be
taken ahead of time to understand the unique needs of the rising class.

Survey fifth grade students to become knowledgeable about the needs and concerns of young
adolescents in transition.
Establish transition discussions between counselors and fifth grade teachers to review students
with exceptional needs. This already takes place for students with IEPs. However, there are
always several non-IEP students who will require extra support during the transition.
Fifth grade teachers will provide practice with combination locks to reduce this common
anxiety.
Sixth Grade visit to WRE Two common themes that came up during this years survey were: 1)
anxiety about the sixth grade teachers, and 2) the workload in school and at home. As students
do not get a significant chance to interact with teachers during the orientation visit, due to
classroom obligations, we felt it would be good to have a few sixth grade teachers and maybe
even some students to briefly visit the elementary school at the end of the day to introduce
themselves and answer questions about the expected workload. Another option would be to
simply use technology to Skype some of the middle school teachers at the end of the day. We
could have one teacher host the call, and a take around an iPad to ask some 6th grade teachers
about their classes.

Orientation program After looking at the results of the student survey, we would like to suggest some
details to be addressed in the program at the middle school. South MS has always done a good job of
 April 24, 2017

organizing the details being presented, so much of this is already done. We just wanted to record our
thoughts in one place to ensure we did not miss anything. The survey has a list of specific student
questions. It would be good to review that the majority of these will be addressed during parts of the
presentation. They can also be used for starter questions during the Q&A time.

Welcoming students It would send a strong message if the principal or asst. principal greeted
the students as they arrived. Your staff has always done a good job of greeting students with
excitement and making them feel important.
Visuals To support our visual students and those with focus issues, it would be a huge benefit
to provide visuals to help students process the messages being delivered (e.g., PPT with pictures
& highlights limited text).
Overview of programs & opportunities Academic, Music & Arts, Athletics, Clubs. There is a
packet that South MS provides each year. It would be good to allow students to have packets as
they arrive, so the students can see the details to process as they hear messages and/or take
notes.
Expectations Provide an introduction to additional middle school expectations and supports;
highlight the similarities (e.g., agendas, binders, homework) and differences (e.g., schedules,
more choices, study hall) from elementary school.
Typical schedule Students are very confused by middle school schedules; this was missed last
year, so we did our best to cover those questions back at WRE. The survey brought up many
concerns with transitions (timing, lockers, getting lost, being late).
Q&A with principal and asst. principal Once the main details are presented, it would be good
to have a Q&A time led by the principal to ease their concerns.
Additional Orientation Opportunities: It would be good to provide a flyer for parents containing
any summer opportunities for students to visit MS & details on parent information night. We
know a blackboard connect message will go out, but it would be good to have students come
home from the orientation with the information in hand, so they can discuss next steps with
their parents.
Tour You always do a wonderful job of finding qualified former WRE students to provide a tour
and answer questions. These peer tour guides should be prepared to discuss the topics of
concern brought up in the survey and our discussions from a student perspective.
o dress code
o 3 strikes / detention
o hallways / transitions
o student behavior (older kids, peer pressure, bullying)
o new friends / students from other schools
o teachers
o gym / showers

We look forward to working with you to support our students during their new adventure.

Best Regards,

Robert James (on behalf of the fifth grade team)

West Rockhill Elementary