Rockwood presentations outline transition supports from preschool through high school

Rockwood School District staff and teachers gave the Board of Education an overview of programs the district uses to help students transition between school levels, from early childhood programs and kindergarten into middle school and high school.

The presentations, delivered during the Feb. 20 board meeting as part of a COPE information item, described outreach events, summer programs and peer-mentoring work the district says are intended to reduce anxiety and increase a sense of belonging as students move between buildings.

Board members heard how the district introduces families to school life early. Loretta Dunkman, an early-childhood program representative, said Rockwood uses screenings, parent events and transition meetings with the Special School District to plan supports for children moving from preschool into kindergarten. “Overall at Rockwood Early Childhood, we are committed to ensuring that students and families have a positive first experience with the Rockwood School District,” Dunkman said.

Ridge Meadows kindergarten teachers Dani Yaho and Maddie Schafer described school-level practices that supplement district offerings, including an April story time and tours of the school, “kinder camp” held in the summer and informal playground events such as “popsicles on the playground.” The teachers told the board kinder camp attendance is high — they estimated about 80–90% of incoming families attend — and that Meet-the-Teacher nights generally draw nearly all families who enroll in a school.

At the middle-school level, Rockwood Valley staff explained WEB (Where Everyone Belongs), a peer-mentoring program that trains eighth-grade leaders to run an orientation day and subsequent advisories for incoming sixth-graders. The presenters said counseling staff visit feeder elementary schools in spring, families attend an incoming-sixth-grade parent night, and an August WEB day is staffed by trained eighth-grade leaders. Rockwood Valley presenters said about 75% of invited students attend the summer WEB event.

Link Crew coordinators from Rockwood Summit outlined the district's high-school transition model, which pairs two juniors or seniors with roughly 10 freshmen. The program includes a multi-day training for upperclassmen, a full-orientation day for freshmen (including a mock schedule and building tours), and follow-up activities during the school year such as study sessions and spirit events. Link Crew presenters credited the program with boosting freshmen comfort and early engagement; teachers reported freshmen appeared more comfortable and spoke with staff more readily on the first day of school after Link Crew was implemented.

Presenters at multiple levels also described professional-development trips and external curricula they have used to build programs: middle-school staff attended WEB curriculum training hosted by the Boomerang Project in California and follow-up training in Chicago funded by a school PSO, which staff said helped expand the program.

Board members and presenters discussed how the transition activities inform classroom placement and instruction. Ridge Meadows staff said kinder camp activities give teachers an informal way to observe students' academic and motor skills before school placement decisions are finalized. Rockwood Valley staff said sixth-grade teachers provide extra escorting and support during the opening week of school to ease students into passing periods, lockers and encore rotations.

The presentations concluded with board members praising the programs and describing observed improvements in student readiness and school climate. The presenter group included early-childhood staff, kindergarten teachers, middle- and high-school coordinators and student leaders who described first-hand experience as Link Crew members.

The board received the information; no formal action or policy change was taken at the conclusion of the presentations.