Freshman Transition
Initiative
TEN STEPS
The George Washington University
rdedmond@gwu.edu
freshman transition.org
The key to impacting students:
How do we help ALL
students recognize the
value of education?
How do we help ALL
students view their futures?
Studies show…
The first year of high school (8th or
9th grade) is critical. Students make
choices that impact the rest of their
lives…
It is our responsibility to
help them make
informed choices.
REASONS students drop out early:
Males Females
55%
49%
Didn’t like school
52%
17%
Couldn’t get along with teachers
31%
14%
Felt they didn’t belong
18%
22%
Couldn’t get along with peers
19%
33%
Suspended too often
38%
25%
Couldn’t keep up with work
46%
33%
Failing grades
NELS. TwoYears Later: Cognitive Gains and School Transition
What can we do?
Freshman Transition Class
for ALL students that
culminates in a 10-year plan
Benefits of a Freshman
Transition course:
• Creates buy-in to the educational process
• Offers relevant themes for academic skill
development
• Helps students become identity achieved
and builds self-esteem
• Supports counseling and guidance goals
by helping students develop education and
career plans
Standards-driven
Freshman Transition courses:
• Reduce dropout rates
(high school and college)
• Increase matriculation into
post-secondary programs
• Increase recruitment and retention
into technical programs
• Provide skills to successfully
navigate life and work transitions
Step One: Gather your
resources
Course Standards for
Freshman Transition
Classes
freshmantransition.org
George Washington University’s
Freshman Transition Initiative
Freshman Transition Standards
can be used to develop courses
for:
• Freshman Orientation classes
• Smaller Learning Communities
• Critical “first course” for Tech Prep or
Career Academies
• Career Orientation courses
• Life Skills mandates
• Dropout Prevention interventions
Step Two:
Create a vision
Why is a 10-year plan
important for all
freshmen?
George Washington University’s
Freshman Transition Initiative
A 10-Year Plan
provides the vision that
helps students:
• Stay in high school, graduate, then…
• Enter and COMPLETE post-secondary
education and/or training, then…
• Make timely and successful transitions into
an economically self-sufficient adulthood.
Step Three: Form a Planning
Team
• Generate community buy-in
• Identify a curriculum that meets the
Freshman Transition Standards
• Recruit experienced teachers
• Promote the school-wide initiative
• Set up a system to share student
10-year plans with all teachers
George Washington University’s
Freshman Transition Initiative
Step Four:
Generate Community
Buy-in for
Freshman Transition Course
&
the 10- year plan
George Washington University’s
Freshman Transition Initiative
Step Five:
Identifycurriculum
Aligned/Validated with FTS
Career Choices by Academic Innovations meets 95% FTS
VALIDATED supplements
Real Game – California DOE
Career Solutions careersolutionsgroup.com
Parent’s Planner
sydneysherrod@hotmail.com
Career Cruising careercruising.com
Check the GWU website for updates
Choose a curriculum that helps
students:
1. Recognize the value of education
and the lifelong rewards of achieving
in school
2. Become identity achieved, which
builds self-esteem, confidence and
character
3. Create an educational plan for the
next 10 years—along with the skills
to change
Motivational Cycle
When a student sees personal benefit in the task – such as
developing their 10-year plan for their ideal future…
Motivation Increases
Student Experiences
Success
Comprehension
Increases
Self-esteem Increases
Skill Level Increases
Step Six:
Teacher recruitment
WANTED
Exceptional innovators
for a project-based, contextual
classroom.
George Washington University’s
Freshman Transition Initiative
Step Seven: Professional
Development
Developing new classroom
strategies, skills and techniques
for the active-learning classroom
George Washington University’s
Freshman Transition Initiative
Advantages of integrated, thematicdriven curriculum…
Learners:
• See connections and relationships between
disciplines–more like the real world
• Are more motivated and engaged by
thematic/relevant topics
• Learn to synthesize information rather than
memorize facts
• Gain an increased perception of the real world
that makes the transition to work faster and
easier
Step Eight: Make your
Freshman Transition Initiative
a school-wide effort
Update the 10-year plans no less
than each year
Each academic department commits to an active role in the
update process.
George Washington University’s
Freshman Transition Initiative
Step Nine: Share all
student’s 10-year plans each
year with their instructors
Use your student’s future goals
and dreams to keep them on-task
academically.
Students who complete a Freshman Transition course
understand the consequences of their efforts.
George Washington University’s
Freshman Transition Initiative
Using each student’s 10year plan as a motivator,
classroom teachers can
provide an effective oneto-one guidance role.
Step Ten: Recognize and
Celebrate
As our dropout rates plummet and
our academic scores rise, we want
to remember to take time to
celebrate the hard work and
dedication of all involved.
George Washington University’s
Freshman Transition Initiative
Rebecca Dedmond, Ph.D.
The George Washington
University
rdedmond@gwu.edu
freshmantransition.org