Media Advisory: Making the transition from middle to high school

“Success or failure during the ninth grade year often sets the tone for a student’s entire high school career,” says Villalba, who was a school counselor for several years.  “Adjusting to the exponential increase in workload is the first major hurdle students and their parents need to get over, but navigating social situations can also be fraught with peril.”

He suggests the best ways for parents to get involved.

Focus on academics

Everything in high school counts.  Help your child gather information and sort through the best classes to take.  Then offer encouragement and support as they strive to handle the greater academic pressure.

Know the first and last name of the high school counselor

If you suspect your child is having a difficult time adjusting, talk to the school counselor. If a student signed up for too many honors classes or doesn’t seem to have friends, don’t hesitate to call or e-mail.   Counselors are often overworked, but don’t let that deter you from reaching out.  Acknowledge they are busy, but ask for their help anyway.

Listen and ask questions

How’s that history class going?  How are you fitting in?  Do you have friends?  What is difficult for you?  What is easy for you?  Parents need to go a good job of asking how things are going academically and socially.  Getting one-word responses is not an excuse to stop asking.  Be persistent.

Advocate for your child

While you probably won’t have the one-on-one personal relationship with a teacher that you might have had in elementary or middle school, don’t be invisible when your child needs you to stand up for them.  With visions of helicopter parents dancing in their heads, some parents might be reluctant to get involved because they don’t want to be that parent. Be that parent.

Start with career goals and work backward

Career development begins in kindergarten, but becomes really important in ninth grade.  Encourage working backward from where a student thinks they want to go.  If they know as an eighth grader they want to be an engineer, a doctor or a helicopter pilot, help them learn enough about the destination and the steps necessary to get there.  Knowing where you are headed makes wise choices about classes, extracurricular activities and volunteer opportunities much easier.  Routinely ask, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” If they say, “I don’t know,” ask, “What do you think you want to do when you get out of high school?”

Play out “what if” scenarios

Over breakfast or on the way to school, present your child with “what if” questions.  What if someone posts something bad about you on Facebook?  What if someone offers you a joint?  What if someone says what you are wearing is the ugliest outfit they’ve ever seen?  What if your best friend is sexting? You can mix in possible positive situations, too.  What if you make the school soccer team?  What if the guy or girl you like invites you to a party? Thinking through possible responses in advance can lead to better decisions.

Finally, Villalba reminds parents to recognize high school has changed a lot in the past 10 years.  “Many things about it are a lot harder,” he says. “With social media and constant media access, students are bombarded by instant images and feedback on what’s stylish, what’s popular, what’s clever or dumb.  It can’t be easy to date, to make friends, to make mistakes.”