Fostering a Community of Care Beyond the Ninth Grade

• In Event: Roundtable Session 91
  In Roundtable Session: Perspectives on School Community, Climate, and Culture Roundtable

Abstract

This qualitative within-site case study (N = 10) is a follow up study to a 2006-2007 investigation that analyzed how one high school created a community of care for its ninth-grade students through the implementation of a transition program—Freshman Focus. All participants were interviewed again three years later during students’ senior year to uncover how Freshman Focus might have fostered a long-lasting community of care that extended throughout students’ high school years. Findings suggest two types of relationships. Teacher-student and program-student relationships served as ways to foster a community of care that promoted a positive school experience for students. However, this caring community did not extend beyond the intimate group of Freshman Focus teachers and the 2006-2007 freshman class.

Authors

• Cheryl R. Ellerbrock, University of South Florida

• Sarah M. Kiefer, University of South Florida