Welcoming Practices : Creating Schools that Support Students and Families in Transition

At a time when schools are increasing attention on students' social and emotional development, this book gives educators practical strategies for supporting a specific segment of their population-highly mobile students. The practical guide also helps schools consider the experiences of parents in the school transition process.

Students change schools for a variety of reasons, and some students change more often than others -- a reality that can leave them feeling emotionally disconnected and often academically at risk. Welcoming Practices summarizes the research on school transition and makes a case for why schools need to do a better job of welcoming new children and families and following up with them over time. Arriving at a moment in history in which schools are increasing attention on students'' social and emotional development, this book captures the innovative practices that some institutions are using to connect with new students and provides practical strategies that all schools can use to make both students and parents feel a part of the school and community. The book discusses how to use technology to improve families'' experiences in their new schools, provides strategies appropriate at the school and district levels, and gives schools suggestions for practices that are best suited for younger students as well as for those at middle and high school levels.