Alpharetta High senior Kennedy Michaels remembers how scary it was to be a freshman.
“I did not have anyone to show me where the classrooms were or to connect me with other people other than who I knew from middle school,” she recalled.
So when she learned about the school’s Link Crew that pairs juniors and seniors with new students, she applied to be part of the team.
“This was a chance to get incoming freshmen comfortable and ready for high school,” she said. “I also get to meet new kids, make new friends and be an example, and a friend to the freshmen.”
Alpharetta High’s Link Crew is part of a world-wide program designed to put new students at ease by pairing them with designated leaders who undergo a 12-hour summer training program. The leaders and their cohorts meet up the week before school starts for orientation activities.
“But it’s not just orientation,” said Whitney Decaminada, one of the school’s four Link coordinators. “We do a first-week check-in, and we strive to do something once a month that connects the leaders with their freshmen. Throughout the year, we do academic and social follow-ups.”
Coordinator Hunter Johnson said the crew is selected by having demonstrated some sort of leadership ability. Those skills are put to use during the orientation when leaders and their groups perform a variety of activities designed to give new students confidence and courage to tackle a new learning environment. This year, the crew of 110 leaders will work with about 500 freshmen in the school of about 2,200.
Not many schools participate in the program, said Decaminada, largely because of the start-up cost. “The initial training was the biggest expense, but we get money from our foundation and PTSA for T-shirts, folders, snacks and water. Hunter and Mike Womack do the training; Sharolyn Ketchup and I do the logistics. It’s a big project, but our school took a leap of faith to do it.”
This is the third fall the school has hosted the program, and so far, the results are anecdotally positive.
“In the training, they tell us we really won’t start seeing noticeable results for three to five years,” said Johnson. “...Our junior class this year was the first to go through it, and several of them applied to be leaders because of the impact the program made on them.”
On the first day of school, Michaels and her fellow crew members sported blue shirts emblazoned with “Link Leader” and fanned out across the school to help students navigate hallways and answer questions.
“I got to say hi to some of my kids, and they got to see a familiar face,” she said. “So I don’t think they weren’t as nervous or tense.”
Michaels’ group includes some special needs students, which is giving her an additional bit of experience, she said. “I hope to go to the University of Alabama to study special education, so this has been a great opportunity for me.”
Information about Alpharetta High is online at fultonschools.org/alpharettahs. Details about the Link program are at boomerangproject.com.
SEND US YOUR STORIES. Each week we look at programs, projects and successful endeavors at area schools, from pre-K to grad school. To suggest a story, contact H.M. Cauley at hm_cauley@yahoo.com or 770-744-3042.
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