Link Crew successfully helping freshmen

Posted March 1, 2022

By Nardin Ishak

Staff Reporter

Link Crew, a peer mentor program by The Boomerang Project, was started in DDHS in 2000, and it aims to help incoming freshmen with their transition into high school by providing them with an upperclassmen mentor to assist them and make their new high school experience as smooth, memorable, and welcoming as possible.

The original program started back in 2000 and was led by teachers Kelly Holboke, Ronda Haun, and Angela Nurre leading it. At the time it was only a club and had to be stopped for a while due to budget cuts stopping. Link Crew was later reinstated as an actual class.

Link Crew is an elective class that can be chosen and added to students' schedules. It doesn't require pre-reqs or prior experience. Eligible students have to be juniors or seniors for the year they want to become a link crew, as in sophomores can apply to be a link crew their junior year and juniors can apply for their senior year. Students who want to join do have to go through an application and interview process and be accepted first before the elective class is put into their schedule.

¨When it comes to class there is the fear of making it too academic that it will push the kids away and too relaxed that it would be boring, ¨ said Link Crew teacher Michael Theofelis. ¨We try to make it impactful and enjoyable.¨

This year there are roughly 70 Link Crew leaders. Usually, applications are available in March and usually close in early april. By the end of April, beginning of May, interviews are conducted and accepted students receive emails letting them know. After all the new Link Crew Leaders are accepted they all get to meet each other for the May Kickoff where the Link Crew teachers congratulate the new students, introduce themselves, and introduce the students to each other with some fun get to know you activities.

Link Crew leaders have quite a few responsibilities, starting with a two-three days training process the week before school starts to prepare for the upcoming freshmen tour and orientation day.

¨It was really fun and it gave us an opportunity not just to learn about what we will do for the rest of the year, but it also gave us an opportunity to connect with the other Link Crew Leaders,¨ said Link Crew Leader junior Korae Williams.

The training included fun activities for Link Crew leaders to get to know each other, but it focuses on how to make freshman orientation a fun and informative day, by coming up with and preparing activities. Link Crew leaders have to take notes and practice to successfully demonstrate the activities to their freshmen on their own. The work doesn't stop after orientation. Link Crew Leaders have to get to know their freshman, prepare for and do individual 1:1 check ins, prepare small lesson plans for weekly advisory, and try to be overall knowledgeable to assist freshmen and answer their questions. Mr. VanVickle, one of the Link Crew teachers who just joined this semester, has been trying to teach his students how to be good listeners and confidants to their freshmen by conducting reflective listening practices and discussing them as a class. ¨I want them to show they are listening by reflection instead of judging or trying to fix it,¨ said VanVickle.

As hard as it may sound, being a Link Crew Leader is a fun and beneficial experience, and students get to help and be a part of other students' lives and make their freshmen year a success. It is a very good leadership role to be added on resumes, especially if a student shows commitment and participates as a Link Crew Leader for two years in a row. It is also an outstanding extracurricular, community service-based leadership class to be added on college applications.

¨They grow in their own skills and get a sense of fulfillment,¨ said Theofelis.

According to The Boomerang Project, The Link Crew program has been happening successfully for over 25 years, they operate in 5,495 schools in 47 U.S. states, and they have impacted 20.2 million students. David Douglas High school had a 71% reduction in freshman disciplinary referrals and a 48% reduction in freshman absences after implementing Link Crew. Other schools had big successes too including Orono High School, Minnesota that had a 45% reduction in freshman cigarette use and 78% reduction in freshman male alcohol use.

Micah Jacobson, Carolyn Hill and Mary Beth Campbell, are the founders of The Boomerang Project that offers the Link Crew program and the WEB program, where everybody belongs, which trains 8th graders to help and welcome 6th/7th graders to reduce bullying and discipline issues, as well as increase student safety and connection for the whole school.