Education Is Freedom’s
Middle School Transition Initiative

Introduction

Until now, the Dallas Model of Education is Freedom (EIF) has focused on recruiting new students during their freshman year of high school through an open enrollment process wherein students self-select to participate in the program.  While this has allowed the program to successfully recruit a large body of students, it has delayed the ability of students to receive many of EIF Dallas’ programmatic services, as well as limited the time an EIF Dallas Higher Education Advisor (HEA) has to build a strong relationship with these students.
The logical expansion of EIF Dallas would therefore reach students earlier in their academic careers, allowing them the opportunity to redefine themselves as successful students if they find themselves in the academic middle, or reinforce their success if they have already shown academic promise. Fundamentally, the middle school transition initiative seeks to enroll and reach more students and potentially alter their academic trajectory, setting them up for productive high school years.  The core of EIF Dallas’ programmatic services would remain on the high school campus; however, recruitment of students for EIF Dallas would begin in the eighth grade.  This is critical for several reasons:
1.      More Immediate Program Delivery—By extending enrollment to eighth graders, students can immediately begin to receive critical EIF Dallas programmatic services when they arrive on a high school campus.  The current program model has recruitment taking place from August through June during the freshman year of high school, thereby delaying the reception of essential program services.
2.      Altering Academic Trajectories—Students will now have exposure to the successful EIF Dallas program model upon entering middle school (middle school in Dallas is inclusive of grades 6, 7 and 8), which has the potential to improve their academic achievement, enhance their motivation, and affect their success during middle school and beyond.
3.      Long Term Exposure—As a result of the second goal, students would now have seven years of EIF Dallas exposure instead of the current four years, which would assist in the transition to high school, build college readiness skills, and create an environment in which students can work to excel academically.

Background

Education is Freedom is founded upon the belief that every young person deserves the opportunity for a higher education.  In advancing this belief, EIF Dallas has focused on five main goals: preventing low-income students from dropping out of high school, helping students prepare for college during their freshmen through senior years of high school, assisting students in navigating the college entrance and financial aid process, leveraging external scholarship funds for students, and ensuring that students have the tools necessary to successfully complete college. 
The core elements of EIF Dallas on a high school campus include the following:
1.      Academic Guidance through one-on-one advising by an EIF Dallas Higher Education Advisor;
2.      Mentoring by EIF Dallas staff and volunteers that offers positive adult influence through regular interactions with successful professionals;
3.      Academic Tutoring that provides academic assistance through volunteers, ambassadors, and mentors;
4.      Personal Development Training designed to help students successfully develop the appropriate life skills, including financial literacy, that are necessary to succeed in high school and complete college;
5.      The “EIF Promise,” which includes:

o   Assistance for each EIF Dallas student in navigating the college application and financial aid process;
o   Helping each EIF Dallas student develop a personalized, comprehensive strategy for managing the cost of college;
o   Helping each student leverage private and public scholarships; and

6.      “Close-the-Gap” Scholarship helps students with the rising costs of college.  For every dollar EIF Dallas invested in close-the-gap tuition assistance, the organization was able to help its 2007 graduating class leverage $26 additional dollars from public and private sources to attend college. Students who receive scholarships and grants that cover their college expenses receive a technology scholarship, which allows them to purchase a laptop.
 
With these resources in place, EIF Dallas students have already demonstrated remarkable success.  Evaluations show that students in the program took more classes, enrolled in more advanced placement (AP) courses, and earned higher grades than non-EIF students.  Similarly, EIF Dallas students were more likely to take the SAT and achieved scores that were higher than those of non-EIF students. Participation in EIF Dallas also influenced TAKS scores, with a significantly higher percentage meeting TAKS standards in reading, mathematics, social studies, science, and composition.  Finally, EIF Dallas students graduated, obtained scholarships and other financial aid, and entered college at higher rates than non-EIF students.  Given this success, the logical next step is to extend the benefits of EIF Dallas to the middle school environment.

Why Middle Schools?

Research almost unilaterally supports the notion that the transition from middle school to high school is a pivotal point in students’ academic careers.[1]  Indeed, the transition not only produces anxiety, but is characterized by disengagement and declining motivation.[2]  Middle school students who carry appropriate expectations about what high school entails, the level and quality of work they will be required to complete, and the benefits of a high school diploma and a college degree are more likely to have a smooth transition to high school.[3]  
According to the Department of Education, by eighth grade, 80 percent of students intend on earning at least a college degree.[4]  While this is promising, we must question what happens on their pathway from middle school to college: why are 80 percent of our students not earning a college degree? 
Many students report a lack of support in the transition from middle school to high school, which may explain the dropout bulge that characterizes this transition.[5]  To facilitate the successful advancement from middle school to high school then requires the implementation of a support system that helps students select which courses to take during their freshman year of high school, prepares them for a changing instructional environment, and allows them to engage in postsecondary planning prior to beginning high school.[6]  Likewise, research demonstrates that middle school students making the transition to high school benefit from a continuity in programming and personnel that fosters appropriate expectations about time management, study skills, and other features of the social and academic environments of high school.[7] 
A recommendation stemming from a policy report by ACT captures the need for programs targeting middle school students when it emphatically pronounces that “college readiness should begin in middle school.”[8]   Not only is this the first recommendation offered in the report, but it is one of the most crucial elements to effective education and postsecondary planning.  The notion of early postsecondary planning, at the center of EIF Dallas’ philosophy, implies that students are maintaining good grades, actively considering postsecondary education, exploring careers and college majors, and openly discussing academic aspirations and financial aid opportunities with parents, teachers, and counselors.[9] 
As urban school districts across the nation struggle to ensure that children leave the classroom with the tools necessary to succeed in the next educational context, as well as in life, we need to implement programs that focus on students prior to entering high school, where the stakes are higher and the amount of time they have to turn their academic careers around is limited.  Quite simply, addressing the local needs of the Dallas Independent School District to reduce the dropout rate and increase college attendance rates requires that we implement strategies in middle school.

The Middle School Transition Plan

Goals

The goal of the middle school expansion is to allow more students the opportunity to experience the benefits of the EIF Dallas program.  The express goals of the program are:

• To enhance college readiness among middle school students;
• To actively recruit middle school students on feeder campuses to the EIF Dallas program;
• To motivate middle school students to be high achievers;
• To engage in a social marketing program that details the benefits of middle school and high school academic achievement and college attendance;
• To provide middle school students with an academic celebration that honors their achievements; and
• To expand the reach of the EIF Dallas program.

Engaging students early is the key not only to retaining students in the EIF Dallas program, but also to improving their transition from middle school to high school, increasing graduation rates, and ultimately increasing their likelihood of continuing on in postsecondary education with the college readiness skills necessary to succeed.

Program Components

• The creation of  a Middle School Liaison (MSL) that will work with the individual schools to introduce the EIF Dallas program;
• EIF Dallas academic celebrations every twelve weeks to honor middle school students’ academic achievement and publicly congratulate them on their accomplishments;
• Parental education about the EIF Dallas program to introduce parents to the program components, the expectations for students, and their role in it;
• Student representatives from the high school who spend time speaking to middle school students about the role of EIF Dallas in their academic career, their college plans, and how they reached their goals;
• Teaching students and their parents about the EIF contract and the corresponding expectations; and
• Planning for the middle school transition.

Similar to the EIF Dallas Higher Education Advisor, the Middle School Liaison plays a crucial role in the success of the middle school expansion initiative.  As the individual responsible for engaging in recruitment efforts on the middle school campuses, the MSL will coordinate events and presentations with individual campuses, plan and execute academic celebrations, inform parents about the benefits of the EIF Dallas program, and ultimately encourage the open enrollment of eighth grade middle school students in EIF Dallas.

School Eligibility

The selection of expansion schools for the middle school program will be based in part on which middle schools feed into current EIF Dallas high schools, which includes Adamson, Madison, and North Dallas high schools. 
Ideally, eligible middle schools will meet the following criteria:

• Feed into current high schools that currently host the EIF Dallas program or will host the EIF Dallas program following expansion plans.  High schools are chosen on the following bases:
  • High dropout rate
  • Low graduation rate
  • Low college attendance rate
• Possess strong school leadership and staff.
• Demonstrate administrative and teacher willingness to have and support EIF Dallas on campus.

Student Participation

All eighth grade students are eligible to participate in the EIF Dallas program.  This is a significant departure from traditional programs that solely reward academic excellence and ignore those students who are in the academic middle or even struggling in school.  EIF Dallas’ goal is to take low-achieving students who show potential and turn them into high-performing students, in addition to honoring students who already are high achievers.  This is the underlying philosophy behind the open enrollment of eighth grade middle school students.  EIF Dallas maintains rigorous standards later in the program, during high school, when students are provided with the individualized support, life skills training, study skills training, an EIF Dallas Higher Education Advisor, and mentoring, among other resources essential to ensuring their continued eligibility and success.   

The Benefit for Students

By leveraging middle schools as a primary source for the recruitment of new EIF Dallas students, the middle school expansion would set students up to succeed prior to their entrance into high school.  Beyond this, the expansion would provide students with the guidance that they need to enroll in appropriate high school courses, which will in due course help them in their quest for postsecondary education. 
Middle school students who participate in EIF Dallas will likely experience an easier transition to high school.  They will have had the opportunity to meet other high school EIF Dallas students, and they will understand the importance of class selection, maintaining good grades, and demonstrating a commitment to their own education.
Historically, high academic achievement has not been valued in peer group culture, and schools have not traditionally dedicated as much attention to academics as they have to sports.  Academic clubs receive less funding, students who excel and earn high grades receive less public recognition, and peers rarely think that being smart is cool.  In fact, this is one of the challenges facing our education system.  We need to show children that their academic achievements matter as much or even more than their athletic prowess.  EIF Dallas middle school students will have the opportunity to be proud of their accomplishments and to revel in being part of an organization that values them, believes in them, supports them, and wants them to go as far as they can in school and in life.   
By hosting graduation ceremonies and academic celebrations for middle school students to recognize their achievements, much like the achievements of athletes are recognized in schools across the nation, participation in EIF Dallas allows students to experience firsthand the pride that comes with achievement. Likewise, in generating interest in and excitement about EIF Dallas early, students also have a goal to aim for, and a reason to work hard for their grades and maintain their EIF Dallas contract. 
Middle school students who participate in EIF Dallas will be challenged, and in return they will raise their own expectations.  With a goal in mind, and clear expectations, students will begin a path toward conquering the barriers they face.  This is particularly important for low-income students, who, research has shown, are less likely to have academic aspirations beyond high school.[10]
Enrollment during middle school also affords students the time to improve their school performance so that they are ready to succeed and already indoctrinated into the high expectations EIF Dallas has for its students once they arrive at their high school campuses.  More than this, logically, early participation in EIF Dallas will also garner all of the benefits associated with the high school component of the EIF Dallas model, including higher grades, increased participation in AP courses, higher graduation rates, and higher rates of college attendance.

Conclusion

If we are truly interested in graduating students that are college-ready and prepared for the challenges of the working world, we must begin to address the challenges and barriers they will encounter earlier in their academic careers.  Waiting until students reach high school limits the impact that a program like EIF Dallas can have on students.  Expanding the reach of EIF Dallas will open up windows of opportunity for middle school students and facilitate postsecondary planning.  Although the program is aimed at eighth grade students who will soon enter high school, there is a larger spillover effect for the sixth and seventh grade students.  In acknowledging and valuing academic achievement, the middle school transition program has the potential to inspire younger students, give them hope, and demonstrate the benefits of academic excellence.    

Notes

[1] See for example: Barber, B. K., & Olsen, J. A. (2004). “Assessing the transitions to middle and high school.” Journal of Adolescent Research, 19(3).
[2] National Research Council. (2004). “Engaging schools: Fostering high school students’ motivation to learn.” Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.
[3] National High School Center.  (2007).  “Easing the transition to high school: Research and best practices designed to support high school learning.”  Available at: http://www.betterhighschools.org/docs/NHSC_TransitionsReport.pdf
[4] U.S. Department of Education.  (2002).  “Coming of age in the 1990’s.”  Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 
[5] National High School Center.  (2007).  “Easing the transition to high school: Research and best practices designed to support high school learning.”  Available at: http://www.betterhighschools.org/docs/NHSC_TransitionsReport.pdf
[6] Mizelle, N. B., & Irvin, J. L. (2000). “Transition from middle school to high school. Middle School Journal, 31(5), 57–61.
[7] Morgan, L. P., & Hertzog, C. J. (2001). Designing comprehensive transition plans.” Principal Leadership, 1(7), 10–18.
[8] Page ix in Wimberly, G.L. & Noeth, R.J.  (2005). “College readiness begins in middle school.”  ACT Policy Report.  Available at: www.act.org/research/policy/index.html
[9] Ibid.
[10] Macleod, J. (1995). Ain’t no makin it: Aspirations and attainment in a low-income neighborhood.  Westview Press.