Ninth grade students who attend Boundary High School (BHS) encounter a host of academic, social and emotional challenges commonly associated with the transition from middle school to high school. To the extent BHS ninth grade students navigate these challenges during this vulnerable time in their educational journey determines their overall…

This study aims to extend the learning advantages of game-based learning from formal education to informal learning, and to develop a role-playing game (RPG) to help students familiarize themselves with a new school. Several game elements and principles were considered during the design stage, and the tasks were embedded into a macro-context to…

The language of school is demanding; much of the content is decontextualized and abstract, and it concerns matters that are far removed from the daily life. Students are expected to learn about rain forests and prime numbers, literary motifs, and historical events that occurred centuries ago. Consider the additional cognitive demands confronting…

Schools implementing positive behavioral interventions and supports work to establish and maintain fidelity of school-wide systems and practices. Depending on the mobility rate of the student population, initial efforts may not be enough to adequately support and personalize the induction experience for highly mobile students. This monograph will…

As practicing teachers, school personnel, and teacher educators engaged in a school-university partnership, we have worked to co-create a mutually beneficial relationship centered around the learning needs of young adolescents. In this article, we will describe our diverse perspectives on and perceptions of how the partnership enhances the…

There are approximately 68,000 students in Houston Independent School District labeled as "English language learners" (ELLs). Many of these students have the additional obstacle of being recent immigrants who have been in the United States for three years or less. In recent years, the number of immigrant ELLs in the district has…

Purpose: The purpose of this directory was to identify, describe, and evaluate evidence that the education practices improve academic performance, close the achievement gap, and improve persistence towards graduation for low-income, first-generation, and historically-underrepresented 6th grade through college students. Method: The sample for the…

This study examines the issues surrounding middle school students' transitions to high school and the degree to which freshman orientation models can help them. The attendance, discipline, report card grades, and end-of-course exams of 60 students who participated in a freshman orientation were compared to those of 150 students who were invited to…

This yearlong qualitative multisite case study investigated ways middle and high school transition supports foster a developmentally responsive transition for students. A total of 23 participants engaged in this study, including 4 students, 4 middle school teachers, 13 high school teachers, 1 middle school principal, and 1 high school principal.…

Purpose: The purpose of this directory was to identify, describe, and evaluate evidence that the education practices improve academic performance, close the achievement gap, and improve persistence towards graduation for low-income, first-generation, and historically-underrepresented 6th grade through college students. Method: The sample for the…

Hazing, associated with initiation, aims at taking newcomers from novice status to a status of functional and acknowledged members of a new group. However, the process is often dangerous, injurious, and usually secretive. Hazing may occur as an unauthorised component of institutionally sanctioned orientation programmes commonly held for new…

Transition plans for students with special needs provide support for social and academic success while giving students an accurate picture of what to expect in high school. The Texas Comprehensive Center recommends that schools develop a comprehensive transition plan district-wide. This district plan must include the cooperation of staff from the…

What steps can be taken to assure that 8th graders make a successful transition to 9th grade? More students fail ninth grade than any other grade level. When middle school students took part in high school transition programs with a variety of different articulation activities, fewer students were retained in ninth grade. Ideally, these transition…

Although the transition from elementary school to middle school can be an exciting time for students, it can also be vexing and traumatic. Often, when parents drop off their children at middle school on the first day of school, the scene is reminiscent of the first day of school for kindergarteners and their parents. At Albert Leonard Middle…

This best practices piece is based on key research into high school transition strategies. It draws on two studies of high school reform models conducted by MDRC, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization, which shed light on promising strategies to support ninth-grade students. Increasing the capacity of high schools to provide extra help…