Connectedness and Belonging through Middle School Orientation

Abstract

at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and several school districts. Within the partnership, Smith Middle School, along with Seawell Elementary and Chapel Hill High School, participated in collab orative efforts focused on improving transitions between elementary middle, and high school. As part of the collaborative work, a team comprised of elementary and middle school teachers, staff, administrators, university faculty, and students met several times throughout the 2001-02 school year to plan the program. Based on input from students, teachers, and parents, a com prehensive needs assessment was completed in the fall of 2001. A year long program was created, running from January of fifth grade to December of sixth grade. While the pro gram encompassed preparatory activities like student tours, teacher shadowing, and scheduling, perhaps the most significant part of the program was an program at Smith Middle School at the start of the school year. An orientation pro gram (e.g., an intervention to acclimate students at the start of the school year) may be synonymous to a transition program for some sites, although com prehensive programs also seek to prepare students prior to the (e.g., student tours) and provide intensive support (e.g., groups) for students who struggle with the adjust ment to middle school. In the context of the year long program, a three-week program was created by the sixth grade staff (teachers, counselors, and administrators). This article focuses specifically on the three week program at Smith Middle School.