A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMEN TRANSITION PROGRAMS IN THE KANSAS CITY METROPOLITAN AREA

Abstract

Transitioning into high school can be exciting but also challenging for some students. To combat some of the common pitfalls incoming freshmen face, schools are developing freshmen induction programs. This research was a descriptive study of twenty high school freshman transition programs in twenty area Kansas City Metropolitan School Districts. The school districts were on both sides of the Kansas/Missouri stateline and varied in student population from 1,600 to over 28,000 students. The total student population studied was over 215,000 students and represented sixty-three middle schools and forty-five high schools. These districts included urban, suburban, and rural settings. This study was designed to determine: 1) if there were common concerns/motivations for why districts had instituted a freshmen transition program, 2) what the goals for each district's induction program, 3) what curriculum/procedures were used to achieve the goals, 4) the possible evidence of achievement of the desired outcomes, 5) the feasibility of comparing the data by district, 6) the existence of common program attributes among districts that appeared to be effective, and 7) if evidence were present, make recommendations regarding effective practice in freshman transition programs. There has not been a similar study conducted in the Kansas City area. Each school district personnel was interviewed and asked a series of questions about their current supports and resources that are available for incoming freshmen. This information was organized on a spreadsheet and the findings were compiled to see if common patterns emerged. All twenty districts currently have freshmen transition programs and all districts that were tracking student data reported positive data. The study listed components and goals of freshmen transition programs from each school district. The results of this study illustrated that the districts interviewed strongly believe that a freshmen transition program was helping them in the transition of incoming freshmen. Administrators and school staff gave a resounding approval for the programs they had in place and most were interested in exploring options to expand their programs. The hope of the research would be that school districts can review best practices that have been implemented in the Kansas City Metropolitan area and use components to help ease the transitional burden for incoming freshmen. Each district and school is unique, and not all of the components mentioned in the study will work for each school and student.