Promising Practices for Improving the Middle to High School Transition for Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders - Key Takeaways

Oct 10, 2026

Uploaded by Ophelia

Promising Practices for Improving the Middle to High School Transition for Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders outlines strategies to improve outcomes during the critical transition to high school for students with EBD. The practice brief highlights coordinated, individualized supports that are often not implemented systematically, and summarizes key approaches at both school-wide and individual levels. It emphasizes behavioral skills coaching, caregiver coaching, team planning and case management, student-led goal setting, peer transition mentorship, and ongoing behavioral progress monitoring, supported by described interventions such as PBIS, Freshmen Success, SWIFT, and IEP transition planning.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Behavioral Interventions & Supports

Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS)

Key Takeaways

Promising Practices

Freshmen Success

Students With Involved Families and Teachers (SWIFT)

IEP Transition Planning

PROMISING PRACTICES FOR IMPROVING THE MIDDLE TO HIGHSCHOOL TRANSITION FOR STUDENTS WITH EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS RHONDA N. T. NESE, DANIELLE TRIPLETT, MARIA REINA SANTIAGO-ROSARIO, & SEAN C. AUSTIN May 2021 Promising Practices for Improving the Middle to High School Transition for Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Authors Rhonda N. T. Nese Danielle Triplett Maria Reina Santiago-Rosario Sean C. Austin Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS) Introduction In this practice brief, we describe several current examples of approaches that are aimed at improving outcomes for students entering high school. Additionally, we present strategies to disrupt the negative trajectory for students with EBD, who seldom receive coordinated, individualized supports during the critical transition from middle to high school. 2 Behavioral Interventions & Supports Positive (PBIS) 3 Key Takeaways • Promising practices in the transition from middle to high school at the school-wide and individual student level offer educators a starting place for improving transition supports. • Strategies to consider in supporting students with EBD during this transition include behavioral skills coaching, coaching for caregivers, team planning & case management, student-led goal setting, peer transition mentorship, and behavioral progress monitoring. As many educators know, transitions can be challenging. Whether it is moving from one activity to the next in an elementary classroom or graduating high school, all transitions benefit from planning and coordinating efforts among stakeholders. The transition from middle to high school, however, is one of the most difficult for students. Navigating a larger campus, more rigorous academic coursework, and increased autonomy combined with a lack of relationships and community found in middle school contribute to the challenges many students experience during this transition period (McFarland et al. , 2018) . Furthermore, students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD) are at increased risk for a host of negative academic and social outcomes, including decreased school engagement, substance abuse, academic failure, and school dropout (Hussar et al. , 2020; U.S. Department of Education, 2020) . Promising Practices Coordinated supports targeting emotional and behavioral skills, family involvement, student-led goal setting, peer mentorship, and high school transition planning during the middle school years have the potential to increase high school graduation rates while also improving the overall educational experience for students with EBD; however, these supports are seldom implemented systematically (McGrath Kato et al. , 2018) . Nonetheless, a few specific interventionsand practices tackle some of these concerns. Freshmen Success (Flannery et al. , 2020) is a preventive, universal intervention designed to increase the engagement and performance of all ninth gradersin high school, regardless of skill level (Flannery et al. , 2020) . The core components of Freshmen Success are (a) explicit instruction of a prevention-oriented engagement curriculum for all ninth-grade students,(b) use of engagement-focused peer support from upperclassmen who share experiences and knowledge with ninth graders, and (c) use of data-based decision making by a freshmen-wide leadership team. Freshmen Success is easily implemented in coordination with multi-tiered systems of support a school may have in place or it may be a first step in moving towards a tiered model for a high school. Research on Freshmen Success has documented statistically significant and educationally meaningful effects on student motivation, engagement, attendance, and credits earned for ninth-grade students (Flannery et al. , 2020) . Students with Involved Families and Teachers (SWIFT, Buchanan, Nese, et al. , 2016) is a multi-component, individualized intervention designed to address th

FAQs

Why is the middle-to-high school transition particularly challenging for students with EBD?

The transition involves navigating a larger campus, more rigorous coursework, and greater autonomy, alongside fewer relationships and less community from middle school. Students with EBD face increased risk for negative academic and social outcomes such as decreased engagement, substance abuse, academic failure, and dropout.

What school-wide and individual strategies are recommended during the transition?

Recommended supports include behavioral skills coaching, caregiver coaching, team planning and case management, student-led goal setting, peer transition mentorship, and behavioral progress monitoring. These practices are positioned as starting points for improving transition supports at both levels.

How does Freshmen Success improve engagement and performance for ninth graders?

Freshmen Success is a preventive, universal intervention designed to increase ninth-grade engagement and performance regardless of skill level. Core components include an engagement-focused prevention curriculum, peer support from upperclassmen, and data-based decision making by a ninth-grade leadership team.

Oct 10, 2026

Uploaded by Ophelia