They found that when users of the new data system
evaluated unfamiliar schools, they expressed not only more confidence in their own knowledge, but also in the quality of the schools.
Parents and community members who used the new interactive tool came away with significantly more positive perceptions
of unfamiliar schools.
Young adolescents entering high school look forward to having more choices and making new and more friends; however, they also are concerned about being picked on and teased by older students, having harder work, making lower grades, and getting lost in a larger,
unfamiliar school (Mizelle, 1995; Phelan, Yu, & Davidson, 1994).
While a welcoming first impression helps all students it is vital for helping the most vulnerable students feel safe and supported, especially if they are in
an unfamiliar school setting.
They often must travel far, through dangerous neighborhoods, to
unfamiliar schools.
Imagine
an unfamiliar school, a teacher saying to the class, «We have a new student from Sudan.
This clearly was not my circle of friends though they had been the first and only ones I knew in
an unfamiliar school in an unfamiliar community.