An important thing for students, parents, and families to keep in mind during the transition from 8th grade to 9th grade is that it is often a challenging time for all students. In addition to the normal stressor of becoming a high schooler, expect that your student will likely experience some ups and downs in the first couple of weeks after accepting a seat at Delta and again as the start of 9th grade approaches.
Students often worry about leaving their middle school friends or whatever activities are happening at their home high school. It takes some time for students to adjust, make new friends, and embrace the Delta philosophy of “Think Differently.” Rest assured, however, that our upperclassmen, teachers, staff, and community partners will all work hard to make the transition as smooth as possible for your student.
We require a one-year commitment to our program and ask that students continue for that full year for a few reasons.
#1—By staying a full year, students will acquire 7.5 credits, putting them 1.5 credits ahead at the end of their 9th grade year. This is a big advantage over the loss of credits that occur when transitioning back to the big high school, as our trimester system does not line up with semester systems in KSD and RSD.
#2—Pushing through uncomfortable or awkwardness and accomplishing successes is a process. Students become very aware of not only their strengths, but also weaknesses. It is important to stick with Delta for a full year to really acquire the ability to “think differently”.
#3—Finishing out at least one full year, looks better on student’s academic transcript. While this may not be something that 9th graders think about, it is an important consideration as they build their academic record.
You will receive a list of events for the upcoming year in late August, along with our school calendar and other important “back to school” information (including transportation information).
We also encourage you to get involved with our Parents of Delta Students (PoDS) group on campus. You can find information on PoDS on our website at: www.thedeltahighschool.com/school/pods.
We do a lot of family events throughout the year and send out notifications via The Delta Website, Facebook, Instagram and Parent Square.
