Before this summer, Josh Chase wasn’t sure he was prepared for high school. He wanted to do better than he had in middle school when he went through a rough time personally, but was worried he was too far behind.

So when Chase, 14, received a letter inviting him to attend a 5-½-week summer program to help him prepare for high school, he signed up.

And now, as school starts this week, he’s feeling a lot better about his chances of doing well.

“We reviewed a lot of stuff that I forgot,” he said.

Chase was one of about 100 students – mostly incoming freshmen at Franklin, Chief Sealth and West Seattle high schools – to attend Seattle’s newest summer-bridge program, where they brushed up on academics, made connections with teachers and were introduced to the activities high school can offer.

http://hechingerreport.org/content/summer-bridge-classes-help-kids-kick-start-high-school_4226/