The transition from middle to high school presents many challenges for students, including increased academic expectations with reduced student support, summer learning loss, and often times difficult social transitions. Across the nation, summer transition programs aim to reduce the number of dropouts by providing transition supports for students most at risk of dropping out.
Looking for new high school-related resources? Here are some pieces that the National High School Center and other organizations have recently released:*
The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) recently brought several state policymakers on a trip to New York City to observe schools focusing on a set of ‘deeper learning’ competencies necessary for success in college and careers. These competencies include critical thinking, communication, collaboration, mastery of core content, and learning how to learn.
Looking for new high school-related resources? Here are some pieces that other organizations have recently released:*
The National Association for Secondary Schools Principals (NASSP) hosted a Webinar, “Early College Programs, A Win-Win for Everyone,” on September 26, 2012 on models for preparing high school students for higher education. Janice Bell Ollarvia, NASSP Professional Development Specialist and a former school principal, compared features of high school initiatives that link secondary education with two and four year institutions of higher education and allow high school students to participate in college-level courses.
Last month, the 2011 National Indian Education Study (NIES) was released. The NIES is conducted through the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and administered to 4th and 8th grade American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students in order to provide more information about their cultural and educational experiences at school. The results highlighted below are from 10,300 8th graders’ self-reports of how often and to whom they talk to about high school and beyond.
Clinton High School (CHS), in Iowa, will be debuting its new innovation classroom in the spring of 2013. The school’s principal, Karinne Tharaldson Jones, describes the classroom as 21st-Century skills-based, providing students with increased opportunities for collaboration - a skill highly sought out by colleges and employers.
Upward Bound (UB), a federal TRIO Program that provides support to educationally and financially disadvantaged high school students to increase secondary graduation and enrollment in and graduation from postsecondary institutions, is one of the oldest and biggest federal programs geared towards this purpose.
