FIRST STEPS PROGRAM
Summer Enrichment Program for Gifted and Talented

Objective:
First Steps, a summer program for rising freshmen, offers a transition from the middle school to the high school.  We firmly believe if we can facilitate this transition, we are more likely to have successful four-year graduates.  This program acquaints the students with skills needed in high school.  First Steps was established at the request of parents, students, administration, faculty and board members.  Students who have participated in this program have felt that it enhanced their chances of success at the high school level.  Evaluations, both formal and informal, at the end of each week session have indicated its overwhelming success.  Instead of facing an unsure prospect of the expectations in the fall, students left this program looking forward to their first steps into the high school world.

Target Population: 
Rising Freshmen, particularly those attending Hume Fogg, but available to all Metro rising Freshmen.

Description of the Program:
This program is organized into four week-long sessions each lasting four full days with a different group of students attending each week.  The number of students at each session varies from 45 to 65.  The first session is June 4 – 7, the second is June 11-14, the third is June 18 – 21, and the last session is June 25 – 28.  This program focuses on acquainting the students with the opportunities and pitfalls of the high school.  They get to know each other, the building, and the downtown facilities such as the library and the Frist Museum.  Students become familiar with the school program including extra-curricular activities.  In addition to a daily joint session, students are divided into small group, rotating sessions. In English they receive an orientation to writing and analyzing skills and journaling techniques.  The incorporation of technology and research is designed to compliment the summer reading requirement.  Study skills and note taking skills are emphasized both by individual teachers and in sessions focusing just on study skills and note taking.  Students do activities to learn how to use the graphing calculator and  to do other essential skills in math.  The various facets of this program have been designed to reflect requests from the faculty and evaluations of the students participating.

Staffing involved:
Three (3) career ladder III teachers:  Martha Robinson, Patsy Lanigan, and Cindy Leake.
Non – career ladder staff:   Math teacher:  Karen Boles, English teacher:  Chris Dowlen