Let's Develop An 8-9th Grade Pipeline; Stop Students From Dropping Out!

We must do more to retain students and help them through this pipeline to highschool. Even though it is expected now for all 8th graders to move on to high school, sometimes it is not so easy. Studies show that 8th graders who are supported by their current teachers and welcomed by the 9th-grade high school staff are more likely to become successful in middle school and move on to high school.

A Transitional Bridge

Among Hispanic 18- to 24-year-olds, 79% had completed high school compared with 60% who did so in 2000. High school completion rates have also been rising for other racial and ethnic groups, but their rates were not at record highs in 2013.

Yes, we need to do more to create a transitional bridge to ensure student success. We must create a positive experience for middle schools making the transition to high school. What if we designed a transitional summer program for all 8th-grade students moving into 9th grade. By doing so, nervous students will interact with students from other schools, meet their new 9th grade teachers, and get a feel for what is expected of them now that they are entering high school. Not only does this boost the 8th graders' confidence in the new year, but it will also reduce bullying and low self-esteem (Johnson, 2014). We can design the idea around a two-week transitional program that will highlight student leadership, mentorship, and specific programming for the next generation of students.

To improve the likelihood that a 9th grader will finish the end of the school year, each and every high school's leadership team needs to provide extra time for ninth-grade teachers to interact with their students and become a positive influence in their lives through mentorship. Many schools are trying untraditional methods for student retention. The goal is to catch them before they fall. In ”St. Paul, Minnesota, the High School for Recording Arts is now a full-scale charter high school and dropout recovery program that serves 300 students from ages 14 to 21,” KQED.

How do we prepare a pipeline to support a new generation of students?

But there is also a way for high schools to help middle schools improve the education of their students and help them move on to higher grade levels. High schools should monitor their performance, emotional states, and social lives of their incoming 9th-grade students. Now is the time to take a holistic approach to student learning and growth. By doing so, they can report back to the middle schools on what subjects the nice days are struggling in. When receiving this information, the middle schools can then tweak and change their curriculums for the 7th and 8th grades. It will help the teachers understand exactly what 9th graders from their school are struggling with so teachers can prepare them.

The Condition of Education

Now we know that improving the educational system does not stop at ninth grade. Improving how graduating 8th graders transfer into 9th grade Is only the first step. There are many different problems in the 9th that actually prevent high-schoolers from graduating after 12th grade (Melissa. R). Eighth and ninth grade are pivotal points in a student's educational career. If the current school board and administrators are not moving towards improving the lives of their students, they will have a much higher dropout rate; we must change our systems now so this is not the case.

 References:

Fry, R. (2020, May 30) [Image]. U.S. high school dropout rate reaches record low, driven by improvements among Hispanics, blacks. Retrieved December 16, 2020, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/10/02/u-s-high-school-dropout-rate-reaches-record-low-driven-by-improvements-among-hispanics-blacks/

Johnson, Sydney, (19, August 2014) High school starts early for California freshmen in ''summer bridge'', https://edsource.org/

Korbey, H. (2015, July 08). From Eighth to Ninth Grade: Programs That Support a Critical Transition. Retrieved December 16, 2020, from https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/40667/from-eighth-to-ninth-grade-programs-that-support-a-critical-transition 

Melissa Roderick: Ninth Grade is the Key to Solving the Dropout Crisis: University of Chicago

Public High School Graduation Rates. (n.d.) [Image]. Retrieved December 16, 2020, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_coi.asp