LEAP for Success

To address a specific need of “High-Risk/Low-Income Families” by developing a pilot program to assist in transitioning students from elementary to middle school. Research shows that “anxiety over transition to a new environment can be detrimental to the adjustment of adolescents. Students with low perceptions of academic competence and low intrinsic motivation expressed anxiety over their schoolwork when confronted with a new school context,” and, “providing students with transition activities at either the middle-level school or elementary school, or both, has been shown to reduce student apprehension while increasing a sense of belonging,” excerpts from Doctoral Dissertation, © 1999, Dr. Charles A. Cognato. As the Houston community rallies to support Houston ISD and other local school districts in increasing the graduation rates of its students, the LEAP for Success project is yet another step in helping students stay in school through building positive, engaging experiences, beginning years before students become more susceptible to the risks of dropping out.