give a monthly report on student activities and bring up student issues and concerns.


Transition to middle school The transition model at Terman focuses


on creating an early connection to school for students and families. Our experience has shown that the earlier we facilitate this connection, the stronger it is, which in turn impacts students’ motivation to learn. Beginning in the spring of the previous


school year, the principal and the counselor, along with a group of eighth-graders, visit each feeder elementary school to talk with fifth-graders. Topics range from activities in middle school to expectations. The goal is to have fifth graders connect


a real “face” to middle school (dispelling some myths that exist about what middle school would be like), and to begin making connections to Terman. This forum allows fifth graders to ask questions in a comfort- able setting – their own elementary school – and gives an opportunity for interaction with eighth graders, their new grade-level counselor, and their new principal.


Forming a learning community In May of their fifth-grade year, classes


from all the feeder schools take a field trip to their new middle school, where they are greeted by students, counselors, administra- tors and teachers, and are given tours of the campus by current sixth graders. These fifth graders get to meet the other students who will make up their cohort in the fall. The visiting students spend time in sixth grade classrooms and have opportunities to ask questions of teachers and students. Spring and summer are packed with


gathering input from fifth grade teachers and parents, and planning for Tiger Camp, a unique transition camp for all sixth grad- ers that runs for the first week of school. This camp focuses on connecting students with the adults around them and with each other as they begin to form a community that maximizes learning and development. The students are placed in random color


groups and rotate through all the sixth grade teachers during the course of the week. Ac- tivities include benchmark assessments, school orientation, community-building


May/June 2012 19


activities, and introduction to student lead- ership groups. At the end of the week, teachers use mul-


tiple data points (teacher observations, input cards from fifth grade teachers and parents, and counselor input) to create balanced, heterogeneous classes. Student and par- ent feedback is used each year to refine the camp for the following year. A lot of student friendships begin with, “He/She was in my group in Tiger Camp!” Students feel more connected to all sixth grade teachers and not just their core teachers, which provides an additional layer of bonding to school.


Measuring results: What the surveys say The PARCS (Palo Alto Reality Check


Survey) is administered annually to our middle school students in our district. Ter- man’s results have been encouraging, as PARCS data show that student bullying has decreased, and feelings of respect and con- nectedness have increased. These results have translated into real


student stories:


n JL: Becoming more engaged. JL is a


sixth grader who accumulated excessive absences in the first few weeks of school. On several occasions he refused to get out of his car and walk into the school building. The counselor made an initial contact with him, and the principal followed up with the family. They learned that he loves math and science. The counselor worked to establish strong connections with his math/science teacher. The teacher chose to mentor him and support him as he took on additional academic challenges. He joined science-related lunchtime


clubs and even voluntarily took the chal- lenging math test, AMC8. After six months, JL has made friends at school, his attendance has significantly improved, and while there are many steps that we need to take for full engagement, we are well on our way with this student.


n CN: New friends and activities. CN


started middle school displaying extreme anxiety around adults and peers. Any expec-


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