The Smart Transitions Life Journey Portfolio Course is designed for late middle school and the transition into high school (14-16). This life skills course helps youth gain confidence and direction as they begin high school.
Overview
The Smart Transitions Life Journey Portfolio Course is designed to help youth between 14 and 16 make a stronger, more effective transition from middle school to high school to improve academic engagement and on-time graduation by focusing on critical success skills.
The Success Skills
- Introspection and Self-Awareness (have a strong sense of their talents, skills, passions, values, and aspirations)
- Social-Awareness (understanding their place in the community and how to engage with it)
- Self-Management (knows how to handle high school with an emphasis on progress over perfection through calendars, checklists, and prioritization)
- Self-Efficacy (knows how to set reasonable goals and how to track and reward progress)
- Relationship Skills (has effective skills and strategies for asking for help, especially of adults and teachers)
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Who Is It For?
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How Does It Work?
The Smart Transitions Life Journey Portfolio Course is designed to help better prepare youth for the transition into high school by learning and practicing a set of skills that tend to make high school more successful. These skills include introspection and self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, self-efficacy, and relationship skills. Students will create a personal portfolio for organizing information relating to their navigation through high school, the development of new skills, and an expanded sense of self.
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What Teens Usually Want to Know: How Is This Going to Help Me?
High school can be overwhelming. In order to succeed in high school and beyond you need to have some core success skills in the areas of self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, self-efficacy, and relationship/communication skills. You also need: - a vision of where you are going; - a plan for getting there; - the motivation and determination to continue in the face of challenges and setbacks; and - a support network. These practical lessons form part of our life skills training approach that prepares students for both academic and personal success.
Hosting a Class/Group
We provide this program to schools, human services agencies, departments of juvenile justice, Redevelopment and housing authorities, churches, and non-profit agencies serving at-risk populations within the Hampton Roads/Southeastern Virginia Service Area. This is usually six to eight 1-hour classes (but we can customize it to better match the needs of your population).
The program is portable, and we can bring it to you. This program works best with small groups of 10-20 youth at a time. We also adapt our life skills courses for adults who work with youth, ensuring parents, educators, and mentors can reinforce the same principles. If you would like to host a course at your site, contact us by clicking on the contact button below.
