Innovative Ways to Acclimate New Students to Your School

The transition to middle and high school, research suggests, can be one of the most stressful periods in a student’s academic career.

The anxiety associated with adolescence is partly to blame; survey data from thousands of British students found that 14-year-olds report much lower satisfaction generally with school, schoolwork, and their relationships, compared with 11-year-olds, while CDC data points to similar patterns among American teens.

But many difficulties also stem from the uncertainties associated with a new environment—and even minor setbacks can quickly upend progress, says social psychologist Geoffrey Cohen. “For example, if I fail that first test in middle school, that’s going to set the tone,” Cohen told Edutopia in 2023. “I’m feeling like I don’t belong, and then on the next test, I don’t do as well. And then I just start to disengage.”

To help build camaraderie and belonging—and inspire kids to feel more comfortable taking risks—incoming freshmen at The Greene School, a Rhode Island charter school, participate in two days of outdoor team-building exercises and an overnight camping trip. “I tell students, these are your two days to learn about our campus, to figure out where classrooms are, and to learn who the teachers are—and not just on a surface level,” says Alex Edelmann, the principal of the school. Beyond figuring out where the restrooms and lockers are, students come away from the orientation knowing a bit about their teachers and with a good sense of who to turn to if they hit a rough patch, Edelmann says. Plus, they get to know upper-class students—who volunteer to help newcomers get their sea legs.

The two days are filled with small group discussions and fun activities focused on creating connections. “You really go straight into being outdoors and building as a team,” says Rylee, a junior at the school, which is situated on a 70-acre wooded campus 25 miles outside of Providence. Her favorite parts included mastering the rock climbing wall—which immediately builds trust, she says, since students are responsible for spotting each other (with adult supervision)—as well as hiking and learning about the history of the campus.

In late September, once everyone’s settled into their classes, the entire school goes camping together, an experience known as “wilderness.” In teacher-led crews of 15 to 20, students hike to campgrounds deep in the woods and then are assigned to gather firewood, pitch tents, or cook breakfast. “To camp in a tent with kids you’ve only known for three weeks—it’s kind of a beautiful thing,” allowing early friendships to form, Edelmann says. Students also grow close to their crew leaders, who become their advisers, meeting regularly throughout their four years at the school.

Welcoming new students with care will look different at every school. But a range of simple practices can “bolster [students] at that key moment when they’re trying to get a foothold,” Cohen says, helping them acclimate to a new environment and feel like school is a place where they belong. “Intervening early, before the consequences accumulate—that gives you a lot of leverage.”

Power up your orientation: Taking the time to develop a thoughtful orientation process for new students helps them start off feeling connected to peers and school—work that’s especially impactful when it’s extended into the year, as The Greene School does via daily morning meetings, regular mentoring sessions, and outdoor team-building exercises.

Most schools aren’t surrounded by beautiful forests and wetlands, but discussions and team-building exercises can take place at a local park, during a trip to a museum or zoo, or even in the gymnasium. “I think the most important takeaway is to create an opportunity to get kids alongside their teachers and their advisers” for informal, nonacademic activities, “so they can see them as humans, too,” Edelmann says.

Additionally, during the first week of classes, set aside time to help students dig into their new school and what it has to offer. For instance, Indio High School in California offers a dedicated “club rush” process during week one; students can go from table to table meeting current members of various extracurriculars and their adult mentors and sign up for clubs that interest them.

Facilitate peer connections: In a 2025 study, when researchers interviewed middle school students about what helped them integrate into a new school, “all of the student interviewees found relationships with peers as central in alleviating the concerns brought about by the transition.” It’s worth the effort, therefore, to design interventions that “facilitate peer relationships,” the study authors conclude. These can take many forms. For instance, a 2021 study found that simply switching from student-selected to assigned seating can raise the chances of a student developing a new friendship by almost 50 percent.

Besides forging new friendships, preserving old ones may be particularly comforting: A 2022 study found that “friendships maintained from middle to high school (versus newly formed) provided greater academic support” for new high school students and stronger feelings of belonging by 10th grade. In other words, if two old buddies want to sit together or pair up for a project during the first few weeks of school, it may be wise to let them.

Get to know you: Middle school English language arts teacher Ashley Ingle recommends that teachers periodically “set aside two minutes at the beginning or end of class” for informal group discussions on topics submitted by students, such as “Which restaurant serves the best pizza in town?” or “Would you rather ____ or ____?”

For some added fun, teachers at Indio High School write the questions on a beach ball that’s thrown from student to student; kids have to answer whichever one their hand touches. Nonacademic discussions like these can “help students become more familiar and comfortable with each other,” Ingle writes. Morning meetings, show-and-tell activities, and games like two truths and a lie can also help kids have fun together and form new bonds.

Write your way in: In a widely cited 2019 study, over 1,000 incoming sixth graders were asked to read reflections from older middle school students. The messages included “reassurance that nearly all students at their school feel they struggle to fit in and feel capable of succeeding in school at first, but over time, they come to realize they do belong”—as well as practical advice, like which teachers to turn to for support.

Reading these accounts—and then writing brief reflections about “how they could address their own difficulties and how those difficulties will become easier to manage over time”—led the incoming sixth graders to have a much more successful first year of middle school than their peers. Compared with incoming sixth graders who didn’t complete the exercise, those who did saw a 34 percent reduction in disciplinary incidents, an 18 percent reduction in failing grades, and 12 percent higher attendance.

Middle and high school teachers can have students write letters from the heart or use a template. At The Greene School, upper-class students write introductory postcards to incoming freshmen and transfer students, which are sent out a couple of weeks before school starts, emphasizing that everyone is excited to meet the newcomers. “We want to start building that sense of community through the student voice before they’re even on campus,” Edelmann says.

Give each other a call: To make it more of a two-way interaction, consider having older students call or video chat with incoming students “to welcome them to school and tell them about the experience,” suggests high school English teacher Maze Cunningham. To keep these interactions going, ask upper-grade students to volunteer as buddies for newcomers who may need continued support.

Values affirmations: In a 2009 study led by Cohen, the social psychologist, students were asked to complete a values affirmation activity. Students were given a worksheet listing a wide range of values, including “sense of humor” and “creativity,” then asked to circle the ones that mattered the most to them and write a reflection. Receiving three values affirmation activities in the first few months of middle school bolstered students’ sense of belonging and improved their grade point average—effects that were still evident three years later, Cohen says. Meanwhile, a 2024 study found that when students received three values affirmation activities in their freshman year, their self-esteem rose over the first two years of high school—whereas other students saw their self-esteem decline during this same period.

Bond after school: When education researchers Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine observed student behavior in after-school clubs like athletics and Model U.N., they found that many students “were actively engaged and eagerly assuming roles as leaders”—much more so than they typically would in daily classes. Through these clubs, they write, students learn teamwork and leadership while developing skills that they’re interested in, giving students “a sense of purpose and vitality” that they may struggle to find elsewhere—particularly as new students.

That’s a live mic: Finally, planning connection points for new students doesn’t always need to be a formal process, says middle school counselor Phyllis Fagell. Weekly breakfast or lunch meetings, open-mic events, and game nights offer more opportunities for kids to connect, without the pressure associated with official extracurriculars.