Upperclass Helps 9th Graders Gain Confidence
Incoming East High School students showing pride in their new school with #ScarletNation t-shirts.
Making the transition from middle to high school brings with it all kinds of worries.
For incoming East High School freshman Nikya Martin, not being able to find her way around is a big one.
“I’m scared I’m going to get lost on the way to some of my classes,” said Martin. “It’s a big school.”
Nikya is hoping today’s newly minted, student-led freshman orientation will help ease her transition to high school. Her crew leader today is junior Alyssa Hilario, who remembers how it was when she started high school two years ago.
“When I was a freshman, walking around the building was really scary,” she said. “I was late to a couple of classes because I couldn’t find my way around. That’s why I wanted to be a link crew leader.”
The Link Crew model, older students leading younger students through orientation, was piloted at Roosevelt High School last year. Community School Coordinator Jill Padgett said administrators saw a jump in freshman engagement. This year, all five high schools have recruited juniors and seniors to participate.
“We have our own perspective as adults but really the high school experience though a kids eyes looks much different,” Padgett said.
At East, administrators trained 56 EHS juniors and seniors to be leaders, each meeting with ten students, each sharing their own high school experience, leading team building activities and giving practical advice.
The 9th graders aren’t the only people new at East this year. The school welcomes a new principal, Leslie Morris, this year, too.
“Come early for the pancakes on Tuesdays — they’re really good!” Link Crew leader Billy White said as he led his team down a hallway lined with lockers.
Billy’s fellow crew leader, Geno Williamson said, all kidding aside, high school can be a challenge and freshmen need to know what to expect.
“You’ve got to stay focused,” he said. “You’re going to have a lot of distractions.”
The good news for the freshmen is that the leadership and friendship they find today doesn’t end when they walk out the door.
“They’re walking away knowing at least ten other kids they’re going to be walking through the halls with,” Padgett said. “And they are going to know a junior or senior, who will have their back for the next year.”
Hilario said, in the end, she signed up to lead a crew because she didn’t want new freshmen to feel as nervous as she did on her first day of high school. She wants them to be confident.
“Hopefully, they’re going to be very comfortable,” Hilario said. “and when they start school they’re going to think, ‘I’ve got this.'”
