The Accolade Editorial Board voted 12-5 that Sunny Hills could do a better job in welcoming new students to our school. The minority claims that although programs put a great deal of effort into welcoming freshmen to our campus, transfer students are largely overlooked, so Sunny Hills should brainstorm novel ideas to promote inclusion among students who have switched to attend school here on the Hill.
Switching schools is hard enough.
It entails finding classrooms in unfamiliar hallways, building new friendships and learning the campus culture. For transfer students at Sunny Hills, this challenge can seem even more daunting. It’s up to us to make this adjustment smoother for them.
To create a more inclusive environment, the school should strengthen its support system to help these students feel welcome and integrated into the SH community.
In an interview with principal Craig Weinreich, we were informed that transfer students do not have the privilege of a designated program that introduces them to SH culture.
“[Dedicating a program for transfer students has] been a conversation piece,” Weinreich said. “It’s come up before where we’ve talked about how we need to do that, but there’s been nothing super concrete that’s come across us.”
While they do receive guidance from staff and counselors, it is still possible that they face the challenge of navigating their way around school, making friends and getting involved in clubs.
This lack of attention can potentially lead new students to feel isolated during a time when making connections is vital, as high school is often where students meet their lifelong friends. Without a dedicated support system at school, they may miss out on school traditions, leadership opportunities or even simple things, like a spot to eat lunch.
It is clear that the SH staff cares about their students, evidenced by the events that are planned by the Associated Student Body [ASB] and the number of clubs that provide niches for students to fall into. However, this gap brings attention to a blind spot in our otherwise strong hospitality to newcomers.
When transfer students enter our school, they join a community where a majority of friendships are already established. They may find themselves trying to gel into groups that formed in middle school — or even earlier. This difficult transition in connecting socially can isolate them, making them feel like outsiders.
Although Weinreich said newcomers may receive some help from counselors with scheduling their classes with people they know, the lack of an organized welcome can leave many struggling to find their place. Implementing a peer-mentoring program or a separate orientation specifically for transfer students could help them feel more connected and confident in their new school environment.
For example, we recognize that Link Crew leaders work hard to orient ninth graders. Link Crew adviser Lindsay Safe said in an interview that as a nationwide program under The Boomerang Project, its primary mission is to help incoming freshmen transition smoothly into high school through mentorship and peer support — a goal reflected in its core principles of “Total support,” “Go big” and “Yes, and.” While this focus aligns with its national purpose, perhaps the program could consider improving Sunny Hills by supporting all new students and expanding beyond freshmen.
Fortunately, Safe said the program is open to supporting transfer students in the future, but currently remains focused on its primary goal.
“I think that we are just trying to meet our first goal, which is, first and foremost, freshmen,” she said. “That’s what Link Crew was imagined for. I told my students … ‘Why not bring in one more thing that you can do?’ But sometimes there’s so much on our plate to try and get something run smoothly, that you don’t really add something else until you’re ready.”
Building on Link Crew’s focus on freshmen, ASB adviser David Fenstermaker shared some of the school’s earlier efforts to support transfer students.
Previously, ASB ran a program called the “Freshmen TO” — short for “freshman transfer outreach” — designed to help new students acclimate to Sunny Hills. Last year, they attempted to host a pizza party for transfer students, despite only 6.8% of the school being made up of transfer students, SH Site Data Technician Ivette Hernandez shared in a spreadsheet.
Disappointingly, Fenstermaker said only one student attended the event.
“Lots of high school kids don’t want to be singled out,” Fenstermaker said. “Certainly, if we’re singling them out because they’re different or they’ve just arrived here, like they’re not the ‘regular’ student, no one wants that.”
Since last year, the “Freshman TO” program has ended. However, Fenstermaker said the ASB isn’t giving up on reaching out to SH transfer students.
“What we need is initiation, like a single-day outreach and then follow-ups,” he said. “I think that we’re going to try to either recreate some similar thing like we did, or figure out some other way to kind of meet people where they are.”
And while Fenstermaker said he, too, wants Link Crew to focus on its mission of making freshmen feel comfortable on our campus, he would fully support a group of students interested in starting a club specifically dedicated to assisting transfer students.
Our school has done its best to welcome newcomers, but a truly inclusive campus leaves no student behind. By implementing other orientation efforts to support all students, we can turn every first day into a confident start.
The Accolade Editorial Board is made up of the top editors and section editors on the 2025-2026 staff with the guidance of adviser Christopher D’Innocente. If you have a question about the board’s decision or an issue for the board to discuss and write about, please email [email protected].
