Did you have trouble sleeping the night before school started? The beginning of the school year makes most kids anxious. But kids who will enter a new school full of unfamiliar faces hardly sleep a wink the night before. "My biggest fear is that I'm going to get lost," Michelle Meyers, 10, told TFK before her first day at W.S. Boardman Elementary in Oceanside, New York.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 15% of American kids between the ages of 5 and 14 move each year. Like Michelle, most of them end up at a new school. This year, schools may see more unfamiliar faces than ever before.
"The No Child Left Behind Act increases student mobility," says David Kerbow, of the University of Chicago Center for School Improvement, who studies why kids change schools. The 2002 law gives parents more freedom to switch a child from a public school with low test scores to one where scores are higher.
Sadly, changing schools can be disruptive to both new and old students. "Instability is bad for kids; changing schools is a form of instability," says Russell Rumberger, a professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara. In his studies, he found that about one-fourth of U.S. public-school students make three or more school changes--not including moving up to middle and high school--by the time they graduate. A family move is the Number 1 reason kids change schools. Kids who live in foster homes, homeless shelters or other temporary housing may move several times during the year. A new job for Mom or Dad often means a move and a new school for the kids. Last month, 93,000 jobs were lost in the United States. That is the highest monthly total since March. "When there's more unemployment, families are more likely to have to move in search of jobs and affordable housing," says Kerbow. Teachers, parents and kids agree that starting over in a new school can be tough. "I had to make all new friends, and at first, I liked my old school better," admits Jessica Coleman, who was a new fourth grader last year at South Mifflin Elementary in Columbus, Ohio. What's a new kid to do? Sylvia Rimm, a child psychologist in Cleveland, Ohio, compares the experience to breaking in a new pair of shoes. "When you get new shoes, they don't feel comfortable at first, but when you wear them for a few days, they feel much better," she says. (For tips from Rimm, see "In with the New.") Some schools have started special programs to make new students feel at home. One such school, Hopkins Academy in Victoria, Texas, invites new students to visit their classrooms with their parents before school starts. The kids receive welcome packs filled with school maps and calendars. They tour the building and meet the teachers and other students. That way, says Debbie Crick, the principal of Hopkins, "there are a lot less tears and worried looks on children's faces on the first day." Carbe Seaman, 10, was all smiles on his first day at Hopkins. At the school's open house, he met classmate Ruben Garcia. Carbe and Ruben quickly became friends. "Ruben gave me a joke to tell the whole class," Carbe says. He told it on the first day of school. "It made everyone laugh!" Michelle Meyers also had a great first day of school--she didn't get lost! "By noon, I knew my way around the whole school," Michelle says proudly. See? Being the new kid isn't really the end of the world. In fact, if you're new to your school this year, you probably have a lot of company. --By Elizabeth Winchester