Farmington High Students Linked in the New School Year

Allison Gaspard was a little apprehensive about moving from to (FHS).

"It's a big school," the freshman said near the end of Friday's Link Crew program. The morning orientation is designed to help incoming students learn more about the building and what they can expect in their first year.

According to Allison, it works. "I feel a little more sure about where things are," she said.

Teacher Katie Gustafson, who has been with the program since it started at FHS three years ago, said 68 student mentors—all juniors and seniors—had to apply for the program and went through two days of training to work with this year's freshman class. Their work won't stop with Friday's morning event.

"This will carry out through the school year as well," she said. Along with a few events that bring the students together, Link Crew members can be helpful with students who may get off track academically.

"If I were to have a problem with a student ... I would contact their Link leader. Not only will I be helping the student, but I'll have another ally," she said. The younger students often respond better to another student, she added.

Raychelle Little, a senior, said she wanted to be a Link leader "because as a freshman, I didn't have this program." She especially enjoyed giving a tour of the school, and remembered feeling the same way about the building then as Allison does now: "I thought this school was huge."

Making new friends, especially across the grade levels, is a big part of the program. Allison said teachers encouraged everyone to move outside their regular groups and reach out to people they didn't know.

Gustafson, who has been a teacher for 15 years, believes Link Crew is one of the greatest programs the school has introduced. It's part of The Boomerang Project; Farmington is among 3,000 schools across the country utilizing the Link Crew transition program, which reached more than 1 million students in 2010-2011. also uses the program.

According to The Boomerang Project's website, suspensions in those schools have dropped 20 percent in its 18 years of working with students, parents and educators. Gustafson said there's another benefit to the program.

"It's a great way to develop student leaders, especially in this time of declining resources," she said.