Next month, Winfield High School teachers Allison Allbritton and Jon Hemmelgarn will present their school's link crew model at the Blue Ribbon Schools National Conference in Florida. They say one of the reasons their model has been successful is Winfield students see themselves as working together as a team.

"Seniors understand it. Freshman coming in understand it. They know they are not the weakest link. They're as important as the seniors and it takes everybody to be successful," says Hemmelgarn. "We don't have as many fights in our school as we used to among freshman. Absenteeism has decreased, so it has made a huge difference in our school," says Allbritton.

Two link crew members are teamed with 12 incoming freshman. They develop relationships, giving them tips on being comfortable and successful in high school.