Link Crew will welcome, mentor freshmen at our high schools

The inaugural group of Link Crew student leaders across Westerville’s high schools took their first steps learning how they can help support the newest members of their school community.

On a Thursday in late April 2024, students at Westerville Central, Westerville North and Westerville South high schools connected with each other through team-building and ice-breaker activities as well as several games of tag. They were the same games they will manage when they welcome next year’s freshmen to school in the August for the 2024-25 school year.

The district is launching Link Crew, a year-long transition program that provides a structure in which freshmen can make real connections at their new high schools. Much like the sixth-grade-only first day of school at the middle schools, the high schools will kick off the start of the 2024-25 school year with a ninth-grade-only first day, where Link Crew student leaders will connect with a group of freshmen they’ll support throughout the year.

Studies show that students who succeed in their freshman year, particularly in their first quarter, are far more likely to excel throughout high school.

The program is a familiar one; It hails from The Boomerang Project — the same educational consulting company behind the Where Everybody Belongs (WEB) program at all of the district’s middle schools.

Westerville Education Challenge, which raises awareness and supports social-emotional learning initiatives in the district, provided funds to bring the WEB program to all middle schools. The group also covered costs to support the Link Crew program.

—Story and photos by the Westerville City School District.