Helping New Students Feel Right at Home

We understand that changing schools — especially due to a military move — can be a difficult season for students. At Wylie High School (and across Wylie ISD), we are committed to making these transitions easier, more welcoming, and filled with opportunities to connect.

Through our Student2Student® (S2S) Program, new students are paired with trained peer ambassadors who:

Give personalized campus tours
Introduce students to school traditions, clubs, and events
Accompany new students at lunch during the first week
Host social events and newcomer mixers throughout the year
Offer support, encouragement, and friendship

Our Student2Student leaders are sponsored by supportive faculty and our campus-based military liaisons. They are dedicated to ensuring every new student, no matter where they are from or where they’ve been, feels like part of the Bulldog family from day one.

📚 Learn More About the High School Student2Student Program

Wylie High School Student 2 Student Advisor:

Kendall Harrison
kharrison@wyliebulldogs.org

The Wylie High School S2S program is supported by an organization called MCEC or Military Child Education Coalition. In Student 2 Student, we seek to help highly mobile students, primarily military, adjust to their new school. Our student volunteers give tours when the new student comes to school and makes sure that student has someone to sit with at lunch.

Student 2 Student provides the student who is relocating with the critical edge for a successful transition. The initiative meets very real transitioning student needs with:
- Immediate peer credibility
- Positive peer relationships
- Valued information
A team from a school campus, consisting of an advisor, students, and School Liaison Officer, is trained in transition issues. The team returns to their home school to recruit and train others on methods to support students who are relocating to or from their school. The focus is student-centered, and is student-led with close supervision.

Three research-based modules are used for the training:
- Academics: (Requirements, Processes, Access) - Test assessments, progress reporting, programs and opportunities, enrichment support
- Relationships: (Acceptance, Attributes, Friendships) - Faculty/staff, groups, organizations, peers, local, on/off-campus
- Finding the way: (Attention, Orientation, Appreciation) - How we do business, the community, the campus, the culture, rules/policies, school documents, structures
Each team customizes the training specifically for its home site. Through the training, the team develops well-prepared local lesson plans and clear team assignments for implementation at their home campus.
Easing the Transition Challenge
Imagine being a school-age child waking up one morning realizing that you are in a strange new place, and, except for your family, you don’t know anyone at all. You have no friends, you have no one to talk with and you know nothing about the school you are about to enter, the neighborhood you live in, and the community you just moved into.

Moving to a new place and adjusting to a new school, new teachers and finding new friends are daunting and scary experiences for most school-age children, especially if the child faces the experience more than once.

Believing that transitioning does not have to be difficult, “just different,” S2S or Student-2-Student is a unique student-led, school managed program that confronts the challenges of transition and provides relevant training that gives students the best possible transition experience.

A team of volunteer students, supervised by a school counselor, teacher or other school staff person, trains inbound and outbound transitioning students on three subject areas: academics, relationships, and finding the way. For the incoming students the team provides a forum for students to quickly feel welcomed, comfortable, included and accepted into their new school community. For the outgoing student, the team assists in helping outbound students better prepare for transitioning to another school.

S2S is a powerful program designed to help change a transitioning student’s focal point from what the student has lost to what the student will gain through the relocation. S2S guides students through their uncertain surroundings, offering — from a peer viewpoint — valued information, friendship and assistance in three areas that matter most to transitioning students.
- How do I find my way around?
- Who will I meet? How will I make friends? What about my relationships?
- What do I need to know about the academic requirements at this school?
What are the needs of a transitioning student?
A transitioning student has some very real needs!
- A need to quickly receive and understand relevant information.
- A need for immediate positive peer relationships and someone to trust and talk with who can relate.
- A compelling need to feel welcomed, accepted and understood.
Here is more information about Student 2 Student from MilitaryChild.org

S2S Resources

Supporting the Military Child
Guidance for school leaders on meeting the unique educational needs of children whose parents are deployed or in transition.
http://www.aasa.org/content.aspx?id=9008
Military Spouse
is a digital hub for military spouses, fiancés and significant others. Find content, information and advice to simplify military life.
http://militaryspouse.com
Military OneSource
is a confidential Department of Defense-funded program providing comprehensive information on every aspect of military life at no cost to active duty, Guard and Reserve Component members, and their families. Information includes deployment, reunion, relationship, grief, spouse employment and education, parenting and childhood, and much more.
http://www.militaryonesource.mil
Military Child Education Coalition
serves as a model of positive leadership and advocacy for ensuring inclusive, quality educational opportunities for all military-connected children. It ensures inclusive, quality educational experiences for all military-connected children affected by mobility, family separation and transition.
http://www.militarychild.org

Military Scholarships

Learn about scholarships for children of veterans, active duty, reserve or guardsmen.
https://www.moneygeek.com/education/college/resources/financial-aid-guide-for-veterans/

Wylie West Elementary