Incoming ninth-graders at Wylie East High School are spending their first week of high school with a built-in support system: upperclassmen mentors called Raider Navigators who lead a 30-minute daily seminar covering everything from graduation requirements to grading changes.

The program, called Freshman Seminar, runs for the first seven class days of the 2026-27 school year, which began Thursday, Aug. 13. Raider Navigators are juniors and seniors selected through an interview process who volunteer to serve as mentors and facilitators in classrooms of about 29 freshmen each.

"The Raider Navigators serve as big brothers and big sisters to the ninth graders, because they want to help the next generation at Raider Nation," Wylie East counselor Lezlie Mitchell said in a district announcement.

The seminars walk freshmen through class rank, GPA calculation, tardy policies, Power Hour, spirit days, dress code and differences between junior high and high school grading procedures, including test-retake rules.

Three teachers run sections specifically for students who are entirely new to Wylie ISD: chemistry teachers Amy Tietjen and Breegan Gholson and Family & Consumer Science teacher Jill Hill. Those sessions add district-wide expectations that transfer students may not know.

Hill said her students don't know anyone yet and everything about the school is new to them. She said she appreciates that freshmen can meet peers in the same situation and aren't afraid to ask questions, adding that her Raider Navigators have been "excellent teachers and mentors."

Senior Raider Navigator Jimi Burrill said the most important takeaway for freshmen is learning how to navigate the school and identifying the people who can help them. Fellow seniors Jacob Munoz, Ava Peter and Sulaf Braso also serve as navigators this year.

The program runs under Principal Timothy Benson, who took over at Wylie East on July 1 after predecessor Tiffany Doolan announced her resignation in May. Wylie East, which serves students from Wylie and parts of Sachse and St. Paul, reported enrollment of 2,640 in 2023-24. The campus's feeder pattern expanded this fall with the opening of Hampton Intermediate and Parker Junior High.

Freshman Seminar will return for three additional days after Christmas break, when school resumes Jan. 5, 2027. During those sessions, Raider Navigators will help freshmen prepare for sophomore year and begin building their schedules.