Extending a Community of Care Beyond the Ninth Grade: A Follow-Up Study

ABSTRACT

This qualitative within-site case study (N = 10) is a follow-up study to a 2006–2007 investigation that analyzed how 1 high school created a community of care for its ninth-grade students through the implementation of a ninth-grade transition program—Freshman Focus. All participants were interviewed again 3 years later during students’ senior year to investigate how Freshman Focus might have fostered a long-lasting community of care that extended throughout students’ high school years. Findings suggest teacher–student and program–student relationships served as ways to foster a community of care that promoted a positive school experience for students. While findings indicate that Freshman Focus fostered a community of care that lasted throughout these students’ high school years, it is unclear whether this caring community extended to the broader school community.

Keywords:

• academic skills
• community of care
• high school
• life skills
• student–teacher relationships