Changing schools can lead to learning problems for students - even overwhelm them - if a strong support network is not in place, an Auckland secondary school dean says.
"Moving schools is one of the great changes in anyone's life," says Amy McLennan, the year nine dean at ACG Parnell College. "Social life is completely changed, new academic expectations are in place and without support many kids would slip through the cracks."
"If they are having problems in the classroom or trouble making friends, it is important they have someone to talk to because these can cause them to feel overwhelmed and isolated."
McLennan's work as dean helps take away the mystery of a new school by managing the support process for year nine students (the year they move from primary to secondary school) at ACG Parnell College, one of five independent schools the ACG group operates in New Zealand.
While education research suggests there is often a drop in academic achievement following a change of schools, ACG Parnell College is successfully helping new students integrate, pointing to a University Entrance (UE) pass rate of 98 per cent over the last five years as proof, a mark well above the national high of 71 per cent recorded in 2013.
Every year up to 50 year nine students from intermediate schools enrol at ACG Parnell College, about half the year nine total roll of 100 (the other 50 are already at the school having moved up from its primary classes). The school also takes on 15 to 20 new students across all ages throughout the year.
McLennan says most new students adapt well but the odd one doesn't, usually because they are having problems settling in or, more commonly, finding academic demands tough.
"Sometimes these issues don't surface for a few months. It can take that long for the reality of a new school to set in," she says. "I tell them my door is always open, they can come and see me anytime.
"We work really hard with the year nine students. It is important they have someone to talk to because I believe a happy student learns well."
The school has a number of measures in place to help students adapt including having a volunteer "buddy" student team up with the newcomer for the first two weeks to show them around and explain school rules; on the second day an achievement conference is held to help the student set goals with their tutor teacher; at two weeks, deans contact parents to check how the student is settling in.
McLennan says having children herself (a 12-year-old daughter and an eight-year-old son) has helped her relate to what children go through and realise how important pastoral care is.
Most education experts agree. The Education Review Office (ERO) in New Zealand says students who do not receive school support during the move from primary to secondary school are at a greater risk of "disengaging from learning".
"This period of schooling can be particularly challenging. It is also in these years many face increased social, emotional and physiological changes of adolescence," the ERO says in a 2016 report.
In a 2008 report the Ministry of Education said there is often a drop in academic achievement following the move to secondary school and "it is important for schools to provide students with sufficient information about the transition, what to expect and to have support networks in place."
The acting principal at ACG Parnell College, Ed Coup, says the school is well set up to support new students - a process beginning before they arrive.
"We encourage them to learn as much about the school as possible before they enrol," he says. "We hold open days throughout the year, guided tours every Wednesday during term and a new students meeting at the end of the previous year."
Coup also interviews every student before they enrol. "This is not a grilling," he says, "although I do ask if they want to learn because I believe achievement comes from a good attitude.
"We take a lot of pride in achievement and developing a love of learning, things we can work on if they are not there at the start," he says. "We are always open about what we can offer and if there are things we can't we will say so.
"The interview is an opportunity for them to ask questions and for me to learn a bit about them, where their learning is at, what subjects they like and don't like, what expectations they and their family have. All of this helps give them a picture of what the school is like and takes a lot of the anxiety out of it for them."
Coup says it is important the school recognises this is a big change for students - and not just for the first couple of weeks.
Student support and communication with parents is ongoing, Coup says, and he believes the high pass rate achieved by ACG Parnell College in UE exams is a significant measure of how successfully the school is performing.
He says this pass rate includes students who have come to the school at year nine or at other years.
