The 5-Step Program Summary

STEP #1: Kick-Off Coordinator Workshop
The Kick-Off program begins in the spring with the Kick-Off Coordinator Workshop. This one-day workshop is designed to fully prepare your team of Kick-Off Coordinators to handle the logistics of implementing a comprehensive transition program that meets the individual schedule, needs, and goals of your school. The KO Coordinator Team should come prepared for a full and productive workday that will set the groundwork for a program that will be run for many years to come. Each coordinator receives a comprehensive planning handbook and has the benefit of working with experienced members of the Kick-Off Team in making the necessary preparations to implement the program.
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STEP #2: Kick-Off Mentor Training
Part two of the Kick-Off Transition Program is the training of the upper-class student mentors. Your mentors are selected in the spring and trained by the Kick-Off Trainers prior to working with the new students. A Kick-Off Mentor Trainer comes to your school for a full day in the spring or summer to train your upper-class student mentors. This interactive day is full of fun leadership and team building activities and develops the skills needed to effectively mentor new students. The day includes understanding and developing goals for the program, discussion of some of the legal and ethical issues involved in mentoring, and rehearsing activities for the Kick-Off Orientation Day and continuing mentor connections. This training establishes a core group of upper-class students who will make a positive impact on their school and change the lives of the incoming students.
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STEP #3: Kick-Off Orientation Day
The next step is a one-day orientation for incoming students called The Kick-Off Orientation Day. This fun introduction to high school is mostly run by the Kick-Off Mentors. It is a day designed to orient the incoming student's to their new surroundings and get them excited about coming to their new school as opposed to dreading the first "real" day of school. The Kick-Off Orientation Day is administered mostly by the upper-class student mentors and a minimal number of adult staff. The KO Day typically occurs one day during the week before school starts and lasts 3-6 hours. Some activities are scripted and others are planned and designed by the Kick-Off Mentors during the Mentor Training. This step also includes parent activities planned and organized by Parent Boosters. This step is the keystone to getting the proper "Kick-Off" to the school year for the incoming students.
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STEP #4: Kick-Off Connections
The Kick-Off Program provides each KO Member School with approximately 15 "KO Connections" activities. This digital workbook consists of a series of year-long mentoring sessions connecting the incoming students with their upper-class student mentors. Each Kick-Off Mentor is assigned to 5 incoming students for the entire school year. These mentor activities are designed to provide new students with continued reinforcement of positive values and include social activities, academic follow-ups, and informational sessions between the upper-class mentors and "their" students. Activities continue in order to monitor the progress that is being made by each new student.
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STEP #5: Kick-Off Coordinator Follow-Up
The final step of the Kick-Off Program process is a step to allow Kick-Off Coordinators from around the country to network and learn from eachother. This follow-up workshop, held approximately 1-2 months after the start of school, is devoted to discussing the successful strategies used in each school and provides a preview of upcoming changes to the Kick-Off Program. A Kick-Off Trainer facilitates the workshop while participants have the opportunity to share ideas and strategies with other KO Coordinators running the Kick-Off Program at their school.
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