Focus on Freshmen 2013
Institute Preview
What is Focus on Freshmen?

Three days of intensive professional development for
secondary & post-secondary educators

FOCUSED on freshman transition & the 10-year Plan
as a foundation for student success

A solution-driven conference in its sixth year

11 institutes covering different aspects of the 10-Step
Plan for Implementing a Freshman Transition Course
& School-wide Initiative from GWU’s Freshman
Transition Initiative
Freshman Transition Initiative
Grassroots effort started by Dr. Rebecca Dedmond
aimed at increasing student success through
classroom-based comprehensive guidance by:

Providing policy makers with a vision of potential
intervention strategies

Provide a curriculum roadmap for teachers

Guide administrators in upgrading standards

Encourage curriculum developers and textbook or
software publishers to create appropriate commercial
resources for the classroom
Learn more at www.freshmantransition.org
Institutes for 2013
11 Exciting Options
The George Washington University Freshman Transition Initiative’s
Freshman Transition Leadership Institute
Dr. Rebecca Dedmond & Penny Paine provide
participants with:

The 10-Step Plan for initiating a school-wide effort that
starts with a Freshman Transition course

Tools and templates for developing a comprehensive plan
for your Freshman Transition efforts

Data and resources to generate buy-in from all
stakeholders

A comprehensive manual
www.focusonfreshmen.com/fti
The George Washington University Freshman Transition Initiative’s
Freshman Transition Leadership Institute
Sessions include:
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Leadership Quotient: The Role of the Principal
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Generate Buy-in for the New Course & the
10-year Plan

Identify a Curriculum That Will Accomplish
Your Course Goals

Recruiting and Retaining Your Most
Experienced Teachers
www.focusonfreshmen.com/fti
Freshman Transition for Principals
Developing Your Strategic Plan
Principal Bobby Cunningham guides participants in
using authentic data from their own school to:

Identify the core values within the community, district,
and school

Establish measurable and attainable evidence to support
their freshman efforts

Develop at least four goals for the Freshman Transition
initiative based on the data

Strategize how to make staff assignments and build
collaborative teams
www.focusonfreshmen.com/turnaround
Freshman Transition for Principals
Developing Your Strategic Plan
Sessions include:
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Beginning with the End in Mind
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Laying the Foundation
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Choosing the “A” Team
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Shaping the Curriculum to Meet Your Goals and
Standards
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Extending the Freshman Initiative to a Schoolwide Effort
www.focusonfreshmen.com/turnaround
Team-building for Your Freshman
Transition Initiative
Principal Rudy Ramirez explores the Freshman
Transition planning process from a team perspective:

Recruiting the team and articulating year one, two, and
three expectations

Determining course structure and researching funding
options

Identifying a lead teacher and ensuring leadership
continuity

A whole-school effort that encourages all instructors to
use students’ 10-year plans as a common advisory tool
www.focusonfreshmen.com/team
Team-building for Your Freshman
Transition Initiative
Sessions include:
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Begin with the End in Mind
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Developing Your Planning Team

Strategies for Institutionalizing Your Freshman
Transition Program
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Instructional Leadership Strategies

After 9th Grade, Then What?
www.focusonfreshmen.com/team
Santa Barbara City College’s
Get Focused…Stay Focused!™ Initiative
Dr. Diane Hollems shares a grades 8-14 model that
delivers the knowledge & skills for student success.

150-page manual to launch community college & high
school partnerships

Proven model ensuring every student enters college with
an online 10-year plan AND at least 3 units of college
credit

Resource materials to start a Get Focused…Stay
Focused!™ Initiative
www.focusonfreshmen.com/continuing.html
Santa Barbara City College’s
Get Focused…Stay Focused!™ Initiative
Sessions include:
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SBCC Progression of Education Model (PEM): A
Comprehensive Approach for Assuring PostSecondary Success for EVERY Student

The Foundation Program of PEM: A Dual
Enrollment Freshman Transition (DEFT) Course

Keeping the Focus: Students Taking Ownership of
Their Future Effort
www.focusonfreshmen.com/continuing.html
Freshman Transition for College Educators
A Cost-Effective Plan for Increasing Timely College Completion
Dr. Lauren Wintermeyer delivers a hybrid learning
experience to support first-year students.

Lead Administrator/Instructor manual for a successful
college program

Model curriculum materials

A comprehensive plan for implementing a first-year
experience that will get results, and meet state and
accreditation requirements with minimal resource
allocation
www.focusonfreshmen.com/ftce
Freshman Transition for College Educators
A Cost-Effective Plan for Increasing Timely College Completion
Sessions include:

The College Freshman Transition Initiative:
Implementing a Student Success Course to
Promote College Completion

Gather Your Resources: An Overview of the
Career Choices and Changes Workbook & the
Pedagogy that Drives Intrinsic Motivation

Utilizing the Online 10-year Plan for Counseling
& Academic Coaching: The Campus-wide
Initiative
www.focusonfreshmen.com/ftce
My10yearPlan.com® Interactive
A Hands-on Workshop
Chris Pulos, a veteran teacher at North Valley
Charter School, walks participants through
My10yearPlan.com® Interactive from the student’s
perspective.

Participants need to bring a laptop with wi-fi capability.
www.focusonfreshmen.com/my10
My10yearPlan.com® Interactive
A Hands-on Workshop
Sessions include:

Overview of My10yearPlan.com® Interactive: What Is It &
How Does It Work?

Meet the CAST (Critical, Analytical, Strategic Thinkers)

Using the Career Interest Surveys & My Skills Inventory
to Help Students Create Skills-based Education Plans
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Tools for Authentic Assessment

Strategies for Sharing Student Online 10-year Plans with
Counselors, Advisors, & Instructors
www.focusonfreshmen.com/my10
Best Practices: Freshman Transition in Action
Successful Models from Results-Oriented Schools
Presented by administrators & classroom instructors
who’ve built successful Freshman Transition programs,
participants will explore the 10-Step Plan and:

The successes and challenges these practitioners
experienced
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The entire process—from the issues that sparked their
redesign to the options they explored, from their
implementation process to how they know they’re
making a difference
www.focusonfreshmen.com/bp
Best Practices: Freshman Transition in Action
Successful Models from Results-Oriented Schools
Presenters include:

John Farinella, Principal, Rahway High School (NJ)
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Diane Goncalves, Asst. Superintendent, Region One School
District (CT)
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Jeanne Donadio, Principal, Foothill High School (NV)
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Nick Garcia, 9th Grade Counselor, KIPP University Prep
(TX)
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Gerardo Cornejo, Principal, Carpinteria High School (CA)

Glenda Lee, Lead Teacher, Lumberton High School (NC)
www.focusonfreshmen.com/bp
Career Choices Institutes
Lead Administrator & Lead Teacher
How to Implement a Career Choices
Course
Teaching Insights, Practices, & Solutions
(TIPS)
Integrating Technology into Your Career
Choices Course
Lead Administrator & Lead Teacher
A Train-the-Trainer Workshop
Presented by Georgette Phillips, your Career Choices
Instructional Support Advisor, institute participants
leave with:

Innovative classroom teaching strategies that create
involved learners

DVDs containing 22 video training modules that provide
that core content for conducting PLC workshops for your
Career Choices instructional team

Strategies for implementing a school-wide initiative
www.focusonfreshmen.com/lti
How to Implement a Career Choices Course
For the Novice Career Choices Instructor
These sessions provide a chapter-by-chapter tour of
the Career Choices materials. Participants get insights to
enhance their classroom delivery and make
implementation of Career Choices successful.

Understand the pedagogy of Career Choices and why it
works

Make the most of the budget exercise

Customizing your lesson plans and pacing guide

The 10-year Plan: The Key to High School AND College
Completion
www.focusonfreshmen.com/implementation
Teaching Insights, Practices, & Solutions
For the Experienced Career Choices Instructor
Aided by Career Choices teachers from across the
country, Lynn Anderson will facilitate sessions that
include:

Tools to Articulate How Career Choices Meets the Common
Core

Integrating Academics in a Substantive Way
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Using Technology to Increase Success for All Students

Finding the Best Fit: My10yearPlan.com® Interactive or
Essentials?

Classroom TIPS that Energize Instruction
www.focusonfreshmen.com/tips
Integrating Technology into Your Career
Choices Course
Sessions explore:

Blended learning and the pedagogy behind the Career
Choices online enhancements

CareerChoices.com
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LifestyleMath.com

My10yearPlan.com® set-up, management, reporting, grading,
and instruction
www.focusonfreshmen.com/tech
More than just the institutes!
General sessions each day
Great keynote speakers
Breakout sessions spotlighting best
practices
Evening technology integration sessions
Hollywood tour (ticketed event)
Awards luncheon