Summer bridge programs are designed to ease the transition to college by providing students with academic skills and social resources during the summer between high school graduation and college. Research shows that bridge programs are potentially effective at increasing retention and academic success of at-risk students by providing an early…

There are many actions schools and districts can take to help ensure a child's transition into kindergarten is smooth and stress-free for her and her family. This report highlights innovative efforts schools and districts across the country are taking to ease the transition into kindergarten for families and students, including students who did…

The CollegeKeys Compact[TM] is a national call to action to school districts, colleges and universities, state education agencies, and nonprofit organizations to identify, share and expand programs and practices that address the needs and challenges of low-income students and help them get ready for, get into and get through college. The College…

Rising middle level students face many new situations when they enter middle school. Stress is not uncommon for new students in any grade, but it is most acute during middle level years when students are dealing with the rapidly changing physical characteristics and emotions associated with early adolescence. The community of adults at a middle…

In 2007, the Basic Skills Initiative (BSI) was launched in California's 109 (now 110) community colleges. This initiative responds to an increasing awareness that state policies favoring "open access" also result in the enrollment of large numbers of students who are underprepared to succeed in college-level work. Identified as a key…

Although the transition from elementary school to middle school can be an exciting time for students, it can also be vexing and traumatic. Often, when parents drop off their children at middle school on the first day of school, the scene is reminiscent of the first day of school for kindergarteners and their parents. At Albert Leonard Middle…

Describes a comprehensive summer program for freshmen at a large research university. Freshmen enroll in common courses, are housed together, attend workshops on using university resources, and receive the assistance of an upper-division mentor. Evaluation suggests that freshmen who participate in transitional programs are significantly more…

This report provides information on the outcomes of the Intervention for College Attendance Program, a program of competitive grants awarded to postsecondary institutions, professional organizations and community-based organizations. Funded programs focus on increasing the access and success of groups traditionally underrepresented in higher…

Bowling Green's four-week summer preregistration program providing students with opportunities for individualized academic counseling and computerized preregistration is described, along with a fall follow-up for additional advising and suggestions for handling computerized registration. (MSE)

Camp Armstrong is a summer program which provides rising sixth grade students with a thorough orientation to their new middle school. Activities develop students' familiarity with the school's physical layout and provide hands-on cooperative learning in academic and recreational subjects. A workshop for parents of rising middle school students is…

An optional summer explorientation program for new students at York College, Pennsylvania, is described, and a literature review and York College survey results are presented. The program is designed to orient students to campus life and provide exposure to campus facilities, faculty, administration, and other students. The literature suggests…

A Brigham Young University program using students to provide individual advising and orientation assistance to entering students, an effort to reduce the problem of students accepting admission and not showing up, is described and discussed. (MSE)

Describes a six-week residential orientation and study skills program for educationally disadvantaged students at Livingston College, New Jersey, which includes mock registration, developmental workshops, content study skills courses, purposeful nonacademic activities, and group counseling, and which is adapted to the needs of a multiethnic,…

The goal of Queensborough Community College's College Discovery Pre-Freshman Summer Program (PFSP) is to ease the transition from high school into college for entering College Discovery freshmen, and thereby improve their academic performance and increase their chances for retention at the college. An evaluation of the PFSP was conducted in 1987…

Describes and evaluates the staffing, scheduling, thematic underpinning, activities, and student recruitment efforts of New York City's 1983 summer PREP program for introducing new students to the city's high schools. Also covers site selection, student and teacher attitudes, differences from previous years' programs, and recommendations for the…