In the second week of August, a program was held at the Senior High School to help 9th graders transitioning into the building this year. The program took place over three days and involved 9th grade students, upperclassmen, teachers, and outside speakers.

Associate Principal Chris Horne said he had two key experiences from his past that helped him to understand the great benefit of transition programming. He ran a summer program for Grades 4-8 students through Macedonia Baptist Church in the Hill District. This summer program was called the Freedom School. It ran for six weeks and focused on helping students understand that they could make a difference in their selves, family, community, country, and world. The program also utilized college students, named servant leaders, to teach students reading and math in small groups.

The second experience that impacted Mr. Horne came while he was a math teacher in the Pittsburgh Public School System (PPS). PPS ran a transition program called 9th Grade Nation that encouraged incoming 9th graders to go to their school for a week of team building, reading, and leadership activities. "Our 9th Grade Academy Summer Transition Program is a hybrid of the best of those experiences," he explained. The 9th Grade Core Team of Kelly Shiring, Greg Pittman, Rachel Macioce, and Angela Keeley was instrumental in the creation and implementation of the Summer Transition Program.

Determining where people fit in the circles of our lives

 Mr. Horne said that the program's Caring Adults felt as if it was one of the most rewarding experiences they had been through during their time with the District. The relationships they built with the incoming 9th grade students gave them confidence and excitement for this upcoming school year. The program's Role Models (upperclassmen selected by the 9th Grade core team) also found the experience to be rewarding and asked to continue to be involved with the 9th Grade Academy during the school year. Participating students were happy that they had the opportunity to meet their new teachers, tour the current and new school, and build positive relationships with their peers. The team activities that they participated in challenged them to be leaders and work together which, he explained, for many was a very new experience. A young lady that approached him at breakfast on the final day summed up student opinion best. "She told me that her mom had planned to send her to another school, but after this week, she wanted to stay at Penn Hills and be a leader in the 9th Grade Academy," he stated.

Ms. Shiring explained that Caring Adults (or teachers), along with upperclassmen chosen as student role models, worked with the incoming 9th graders in various activities that focused on communication skills and building meaningful, caring relationships between teachers and students as well as students and other students. Mr. Horne went on to say that in addition to activities created to support team building and leadership, other areas that were explored were helping students experience the concepts of thinking outside of the box as well as failing but not giving up.  At one point in the program, Superintendent Thomas Washington made a presentation to the students and told them he would see them again in four years when they all graduated.

As stated to students and staff on the first day, the 9th Grade Academy Summer Transition Program was an important first step toward the District becoming one of the best in the country, Mr. Horne stated. "The program made students feel cared for, safe, supported, empowered, part of a team, and a part of something bigger than them," he explained, adding that they are "all components of a successful educational system."

Ms. Shiring said that the transition program was more successful than they had anticipated. The 9th grade academy core team had high expectations for the program, and she believes those expectations were surpassed. The student turn-out and retention for the program averaged around 180 students each day.

Working together to move ahead

Feedback from teachers has been extremely positive, Ms. Shiring stated. "We are all very excited about returning to school this year and continuing to build upon those caring relationships as we move through the school year," she said, adding, "This is a real opportunity to shift our school culture and how Penn Hills is viewed."

In addition, feedback from students, both role models and 9th graders, has also been positive. One student the teachers worked with was going to be withdrawn from Penn Hills. However, after taking part in the program, Ms. Shiring said the student has since asked his parents to please allow him to attend the high school and continue the positive work they had begun. The students also had an opportunity to comment about the program via a survey, she explained, and feedback was positive and encouraging.

"Our team of teachers (caring adults) and role models will continue to work with our 9th graders throughout the year to ensure a positive transition into the high school and to develop these students into leaders who will enact positive change for our School District and the entire Penn Hills community," Ms. Shiring stated. This idea was taken one step further by Mr. Horne, who said, "It takes a village to raise a child and the Summer Transition Program addressed the whole child and helped every student to understand that they had a village (team) of support around them for the next four years."  (to view more photos from the program, including some of the activities, click here)