New Student Orientation Guidelines
New Student Orientation is designed to support a student entering a new school building at
any time other than at the beginning of the school year. The Process can take as little as six weeks
to complete and is outlined in the steps below. The supporting documents are attached.
Week One Following Registration

The student (or the student’s parent/guardian if the student is unavailable)
should complete the age-appropriate New Student Inventory during registration.
There is an inventory for kindergarten, elementary and secondary.

The Building Administrator (Assistant Principal, for example) will meet with
the parent/guardian. Prior to the meeting, the Administrator will review the
completed New Student Inventory. During the meeting, the Administrator
should go over school expectations, explain helpful information about school
culture, and answer any questions.

Student orientation. The student orientation should include the acclimation
procedures that are typically provided to students during the first week of
school (review Student Code of Conduct, PBS expectations, academic
requirements, dress code (if any), unique building situations, etc.) and can be
provided by staff and/or a group of students, but it needs to be by human
contact to be effective. The orientation should include a tour of the building
(including cafeteria, athletic and arts facilities, and grade-level classrooms).
Two Weeks From Registration

Two weeks after registration, the Building Administrator selects a teacher who
has substantial contact with the student to complete a Teacher Feedback Form
on the student’s attendance, behavior and course work requirements. Use of the
DOE EdInsight Dashboard expedites this step; the teacher can provide a
printout from the Dashboard of the student’s attendance, behavior referrals (if
any) and course work. In addition, the teacher makes a telephone call to the
student’s parent/guardian to provide an update and ask the parent/guardian’s
perspective on the school transition. The teacher documents the telephone call
on the form. The teacher should try to make three attempts to speak with the
parent/guardian if the first two calls result in leaving a voicemail. The form is
completed, dated at the top, and returned to the office. The Building
Administrator should review the form upon completion.
Four Weeks From Registration

Four weeks after registration, the school counselor completes the Counselor’s
Feedback Form (seeking feedback from the student’s teachers and the
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EdInsight Dashboard). In addition, the school counselor telephones the
parent/guardian of the new student to determine how the first month has
progressed, identify any possible issues that need to be resolved, and to answer
any questions. The counselor documents the telephone call on the Counselor
Feedback Form. The counselor should try to make three attempts to speak with
the parent/guardian if the first two calls result in leaving a voicemail. The form
is completed, dated at the top, and returned to the office. The Building
Administrator should review the form upon completion.
Six Weeks From Registration
Student Team Meeting to discuss student’s progress:

A team meets to determine one or more of the following:
1. Student is dismissed from New Student Orientation with no additional
services; or
2. Student is placed in academic RtI; and/or
3. Student is placed in tiered behavioral support; and/or
4. Student is followed through Truancy Tracker and is monitored by Social
Worker/Homeless Liaison/Visiting Teacher/School Counselor (depending
on school structure).

The team should be comprised of all adults who participated in New Student
Orientation, the school nurse, and other support personnel as needed.

If the student is not dismissed from Orientation, one team member should serve
as a mentor to the student, and one team member who has access to the DOE
EdInsight Dashboard should continue to monitor the student’s academics,
behavior and course work, and report any issues to the team on a weekly basis
(email is acceptable) until such time as the team determines that the student is
ready to be released from oversight.

A list of possible interventions, as needed, is also part of the New Student
Orientation and can be used for guidance.
Affective Student Engagement Includes:
 Developing a close relationship with the student.
 Showing the student that you care about him/her as an individual.
 Taking an active interest in the student’s own interests.
 Demonstrating high positive regard for the student.
 Praising the student for appropriate behavior.
 Helping a student learn to make positive peer and adult relationships.
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Remember: you can be the difference between success and failure for every student.
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