In school districts where there are no middle schools it can be difficult for some children to transition from Elementary to Secondary school. Those who are identified with special needs should have supports and their support teams in theory work together for a successful transition from grade 7 to grade 8. At-risk students such as those who may come from a single parent household, lower socioeconomic situations, mild anxiety, etc. may go unnoticed until the student is far behind in grade 8. The goal of the Gator Shades youth-at-risk summer program is to provide incoming grade 8 students with time at the Secondary school prior to September to familiarize them to the school, practice some literacy and numeracy skills and develop positive relationships with peers and adults. A classroom teacher, resource teacher and technology teacher will work together with special education assistant(s) and youth care workers to provide the program. The grade 7 teacher, special education teacher and/or counsellors will be the ones to recommend at-risk youth to the program. Parents will complete an application package with the input of the student and program teachers will select appropriate students. This program stakeholders are the administration/district and the program is funded by the government with financial contributions from a local youth care worker organization. There are many types of program evaluation that could benefit the program from formative, to ensure the activities we are currently doing are engaging and practical for the students, meeting their needs. A summative evaluation would be useful to determine if the program should continue in future years. A hybrid evaluation could provide feedback for changes for future programs and how to grow the program for different student groups, example students with autism, or other schools within the district. It’s possible that the introduction of middle schools still results in difficulty for those transiting from Middle school to Secondary school and the program could be useful in those situations. The program I am referencing is called Gator Shades because Walnut Grove Secondary is home of the Gators and many other programs reference the Gator. Examples include Gator Aid, Gator FORCE, etc.
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AuthorTanya Kerr is a current student of Queen's University Graduate studies. Archives
September 2023
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