BATAVIA, Ohio — Nearly 90 West Clermont Middle School eighth graders spent three days training this month to become WEB Leaders, student mentors who will guide incoming sixth graders through their first year of middle school, according to a Facebook post from the school district.
The training prepared the eighth graders to lead sixth-grade orientation and to serve throughout the year as mentors, role models and familiar faces for the district’s newest middle schoolers, the district said.
WEB stands for Where Everybody Belongs, a national middle school transition program used in schools across the country to ease the jump from elementary to middle school. Eighth-grade volunteers train over the summer, then welcome sixth graders on orientation day and check in with them throughout the year through classroom visits and social events, according to the Boomerang Project, which developed the WEB model.
The program also functions as an informal anti-bullying effort, giving sixth graders older students they can turn to and giving the school a network of trained peer leaders watching for students who need help, according to the Boomerang Project.
West Clermont Middle School, at 1341 Clough Pike, serves sixth through eighth graders across West Clermont Local School District, which covers much of Union Township along with portions of Batavia, Monroe and Pierce townships. The district set Aug. 18 as the first day of school for the 2026-27 year.
The information contained in this story was obtained from West Clermont Local School District.