What is Link Crew?
Link Crew is a peer mentoring program for students entering the 9th grade. The program is based on the premise that older, more experienced, and successful students can help 9th grade students succeed in adjusting to the transition to high school.
The Link Crew Program concentrates on environmental and individual needs most relevant to the social engagement of adolescents which are:
- A caring school climate
- Positive peer influences
- School engagement
- Bonding to school
- social competence
There is an orientation for the 9th grade students, which includes an all-day program hosted by the Link Crew mentors and advisors. The orientation program includes large and small group activities designed to connect the students to each other as well as to the mentor and the school, answer questions regarding life in high school, and familiarize the students with the campus itself through walking tours. Lunch is served to the 9th grade students and their mentors at the conclusion of the orientation. Sometimes a dance is held that same evening with only the 9th grade students and their Link Crew members invited to attend.
Activities / Ongoing Mentoring
During the school year, the Link Crew mentors sponsor activities for the 9th grade students and provide strategies for succeeding in high school through activities and instruction in 9th grade classes; this could take place during seminar. Ideally, the program includes on-going mentoring of the freshmen by the selected upperclassmen. The goal of the program is to prepare 9th grade students for the challenges of high school and empower them to get involved.
Challenges / Results
In conclusion the educational milestone the transition from 8th to 9th grade is thought of as a critical determinant in career acquisition and/or the path to postsecondary education. Students are given increased levels of responsibility and must demonstrate greater autonomy in their educational pursuit. The increased numbers of students in the high school population compound the difficulty for individual students during the transition and may result in feelings of diminished significance or importance for them. Ninth grade students may view this lack of individual attention as apathy on the part of the teachers. In addition there are simply more peers surrounding them with whom they must interact and these peers come from a wider geographical area. Students in high school are faced with increased accountability from teachers and typically more frequent and rigorous academic testing during the transition to high school. Students are simultaneously forced to adapt as freshmen entering the pre-existing worlds of the sophomores, juniors, and seniors. The 9th grade student must develop a new sense of belonging through extensive social reorganization. Facing this period of instability in their environment with fewer resources may result in maladaptive coping.
The results of the Link Crew Program are outstanding thus far at South Lake high school.