Beginning in November at the end of the first marking period, two new elements, called Link Applause and Link Alerts, were introduced to the IHS Link Crew Program. With the program now in its third year, IHS teachers and Link Crew Coordinators Judy Cogan and Kelly Metzler, are working with student Link Leaders to look for ways to positively impact the school community. These new programs are examples of the product of these efforts.

Link Alerts are ways for Link Crew leaders to provide help to freshmen in need. Staff members recommend students to receive help via a Link Alert form, available from Tracy Compton in the main office. This support can range from academic help, to minor peer counseling, to suggestions for extracurricular clubs or activities. Alerts may be about a student who is struggling in Global History and needs a tutor, or one who sits alone at lunch and needs someone to reach out to him or her. Once the student has decided that they want help, Cogan or Metzler email Link Leaders who then respond by contacting the students and offering support. There are also follow-ups with Leaders and students to notify teachers and guidance counselors of progress.

Metzler describes Link Applause as a way to "reward students in areas they are not often awarded." Teachers, staff members, can recognize freshman accomplishments with a certificate that is then delivered to the student. The Applause certificate can be given for anything, from a generous act to academic achievement. Although this program hasn't seen much use since it was established, Cogan described it as a way of saying, "Hey, we noticed you." Currently, Link Crew is looking into finding a place to display the Applause certificates.

The idea for Link Applause and Alerts came from the "refresher" courses that Cogan and Metzler took with teachers from other schools with Link Crew programs. The courses are conducted through Link Crew's parent organization, the Boomerang Project. Though the idea came from another school, the support that the Alerts make more accessible had already been happening informally. According to Metzler, Link Crew has always received requests for tutoring. Implementing these programs is, Metzler said, a way for "students to take active roles in the student community."

Link Crew hopes to see the new programs achieve short-term goals, like raising grades for students who are being tutored. However, they also have some long-term goals in mind, like changing social aspects of IHS to create new opportunities for help and positive reinforcement for freshmen.

So far, with six Alerts, mostly for tutors, the Link Alert program appears to be a success. Leaders are matched with students through the email process "within minutes," said Cogan. The Applause program is off to a slower start, but has seen progress. Link Crew is working on making recognition public and school-wide. The administration and teachers are finding that these programs are already helping. Parents of freshmen, as well, contact Cogan and Metzler to tell of leaders who provide continuing support to 9th graders. Freshmen themselves also inform Link Crew that these new programs have already been helpful. Grace G. '10, a Link Leader, said that she has already seen the impact: "[Link Applause] is reinforcing positive connections in our school and making changes for the better."

"We believe so strongly that if kids feel wanted, appreciated, noticed, supported, and connected, that they will do better in school," Cogan said.

Link Crew is taking steps to try and change the IHS community. This aim, Metzler notes, is directly related to Link Crew's motto: A Revolution in Kindness. According to Cogan, "It just keeps getting better!"