Handling the Transition from Middle to High School

            In this Principal Leadership article, Pittsburgh administrator Dan Beck describes five ways his 1,300-student high school supports incoming ninth graders: 

• Admin and counselor looping – Students and their families are assigned to one of two assistant principals based on students’ last names and stay with the same AP through graduation. Two 9th-grade counselors also split their student caseloads by students’ last names, and students connect with a new counselor for grades 10-12. Relationship-building begins with 8th-grade orientation meetings before students arrive, and the assistant principals conduct personal visits for students with IEPs and service arrangements. 

• Junior-freshman mentoring – Juniors apply and 60 are selected to act as mentors for incoming ninth graders. On Move Up Day, mentors wear red shirts and greet their mentees with the message, We've Got Your Back, and also support them during Freshman Rush, when students are introduced to clubs and activities they can join. During the year, ninth graders meet with their mentors once a week during homeroom periods. Periodically there are social gatherings when mentors focus on teamwork, collaboration, and school spirit. There are also four senior student mentors who identify individual ninth graders who might need a stronger connection, support the junior mentors, and consult with teachers on questions and concerns. 

• Modified block schedule – Tuesday through Friday, there’s a flex block in the middle of the day (dubbed Academic Resource Time) when students can get remediation or enrichment in a content area or on a specific assignment, connecting with teachers and counselors throughout the school year. 

• Ninth-grade homerooms – First-year students are assigned to 20-student homerooms that meet Mondays (or Day One) for 25 minutes, the other days of the week for 10 minutes. Homeroom teachers get to know students and deliver a set of lessons on themes, including “High School 101”, study strategies, test-taking skills, and relationship-building. 

• Freshman seminar – Incoming ninth graders meet in groups with their counselor during a period on their Day One schedule to address common transitioning challenges and connect with other students assigned to that counselor. Topics include handling the demands of high school, good study habits, social media awareness, and postsecondary planning. In the latter part of the year, students meet individually with their counselor (parents are invited to join) to discuss their sophomore schedules and long-term plans. 

 “When the Only Constant Is Change” by Dan Beck in Principal Leadership, September 2025 (Vol. 26, #1, pp. 22-25); Beck can be reached at dbeck@uscsd.k12.pa.us.

Please Note: This summary is reprinted with permission from issue #1103 of The Marshall Memo, an excellent resource for educators.