Moving from elementary to middle school can be one of the most difficult transitions for students. They are used to having the same teacher all day who knows them well, and then they move to an often larger school where they switch classes and teachers several times a day. With such change, it is easy for students to feel lost and disconnected at school.

Kristen Pelster, an assistant principal at Ridgewood Middle School, and her colleague, principal Tim Crutchley, who had recently taken over leadership of the school, started working with sixth-graders a full year before these students entered Ridgewood. They initiated a series of steps to ease transition and help new students feel more connected to the school:

• Bringing all incoming sixth-graders to school to sit through the third-hour class and the advisory period.

• Holding a "lockin" that all incoming students are invited to. The students spend all night at the school during the lock-in, which features a disc jockey and opportunities to play sports, videos, and other games. Students from the four elementary schools that feed into Ridgewood are all invited. The teaching and other staff come, as well as high school cheerleaders and pom-pom girls, who hold clinics. Community organizations donate food.

• Holding a barbeque in May on the football field that again brings students from all four elementary schools together. Students play games and have more opportunities to meet with one another and school staff.

• Holding a parent night for all parents of incoming students. During the two and a half-hour meeting, school staff talk to parents about the school and their expectations for the students. Parents also have an opportunity to talk about their needs and expectations.

• During the school year, having the principal go to each of the four elementary schools and give each incoming student a copy of the student handbook. The principal reviews school policies, including the dress code and discipline policies.

• Holding an orientation for students the summer before school starts.

• Having students spend their entire first two days of school with the teachers in their advisory periods. There is no formal teaching. Students and their teachers engage in team-building activities. The time is designed to help students again build a connection to the school.