This document presents a guide to help students, who are entering the ninth grade, and their parents prepare for the transition from middle school to high school. The booklet is organized around a series of questions that students might ask themselves as they begin to plan for their high school careers. Each question is considered and discussed to…

Describes an alternative program for ninth-graders "having adjustment problems." The voluntary program includes simple and consistent classroom rules, frequent graded assignments, and a focus on relevance to students' life experiences; students are encouraged to do schoolwork through a system of group rewards. (MCG)

This curriculum guide for senior English language arts instruction in Manitoba, Canada, is intended to suggest to teachers and administrators how Senior 1 English Language Arts instruction can be delivered within the framework of new program delivery models presented in "Answering the Challenge: Strategies for Success in Manitoba Schools…

Rainier Beach High School, Seattle, Washington, uses a three-day freshman orientation program to prepare ninth graders for the high school experience and to help the high school to better know and provide for them. (DCS)

A Georgia school system addresses the need for middle schools and high school personnel to work cooperatively to assist eighth graders in making a smooth transition to ninth grade. (MLF)

Discusses the social studies requirements of Sidney High School (Ohio) and the place of geography in the curriculum. Maintains the importance of geography. Outlines several world geography activities used at the school including supermarket geography that teaches students the origin of their food. (RW)

Suggests freshman performance and school climate may dramatically improve if high school principals capitalize on freshmen enthusiasm by establishing a theme for the school year, developing a friendly orientation day, reevaluating the homeroom, and communicating with parents. (DCS)

Describes Freshmen Awareness Groups, discussion groups designed to unite students, teachers and counselors in sharing ideas and feelings and becoming more aware of themselves and each other. Activities and goals for the five weekly sessions are outlined. (JAC)

Ninth graders in a six-week reading improvement class at San Marcos High School (Texas) acted as tutors in an elementary school. The ninth graders' self-confidence, attitude, and attendance improved dramatically, but their own progress in reading did not, because of the short duration of the project. (DM)

This paper begins by reviewing evidence nationally, provincially, and locally that many students drop out of secondary school; that failure rates in core subjects in grades 9 and 10 in Ontario are high; and that ninth graders in Ontario reported being concerned about their school progress, their level of preparation and readiness for high school,…

This paper identifies and assesses factors that may characterize students at risk of dropping out, based on a ninth grade class of Cincinnati (Ohio) public school students which was followed for five years, from 1984-85 to 1988-89. The paper aims to develop a quick, easy, and reliable method that teachers, counselors, and principals can use to…

The transition to high school is a crucial time in a student's academic career. This summary is presented as a caution to students, parents, teachers, administrators, and the public to warn of some of the hazards of the transition year (grade nine). In 1989-90, ninth-graders in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District had the lowest…

Reducing absences is the most readily available strategy that high schools have for reducing the number of dropouts. A sample of approximately 2,000 students who entered three Oregon urban high schools in the Fall of 1983 or 1984 was studied in order to establish criteria for identifying students who were at-risk of not graduating. The group was…

STRIVE was a special instructional program which provided a nurturing, caring, intensive instructional milieu for over-aged, low-performing ninth graders, who were perceived to be at risk of dropping out of school, at Barbara Jordan High School for Careers in Houston (Texas) during the 1988-89 school year. This report evaluates the effectiveness…