Graduate Together: Fifth-graders visit their future high schools

North Dallas High School senior Heath Waffer still remembers his first day as a freshman.

He’d never visited a high school before, so he thought it was “some big scary place.” He was notably terrified the first time he walked through the front door.

Today, Waffer is a top student, involved in extracurricular activities, and loves high school. And on Sept. 14, Waffer served as a student greeter to North Dallas High School as part of the Graduate Together Initiative.

“It’s important to have days like this where younger students can come and see that high school is a fun experience to look forward to and be excited about, not something to dread,” Waffer said.

All Dallas ISD high schools will hold a Graduate Together event this school year to welcome fifth-graders—who attend elementary schools in the high school’s feeder pattern—to their campus. Louisa Meyer, the founder of GraduateTogether.org, partnered with Dallas ISD to ensure that all fifth-graders receive shirts with their high school graduation year, high school mascot, and middle school.

“Dallas ISD is extremely fortunate to have strong partnerships with organizations such as Graduate Together to help us build a community of schools that sets high expectations for students and works hand-in-hand to help our students realize their fullest potential,” Dallas ISD Deputy Chief Brian Lusk said. “The Graduate Together campaign promotes feeder pattern pride and sets expectations for students to graduate from high school and college.”