Thirty-six Concord Middle School students are spending their fall greeting new classmates at the door, walking them to class and sitting with them at lunch.

The school's new ambassador program, launched for the 2026-27 school year, pairs trained student volunteers with every family that enrolls mid-year or arrives for the first time. As of Wednesday, Sept. 23, the ambassadors had welcomed more than 20 new students, Concord-Carlisle News reported.

Guidance counselors Jenn Moran, Molly Burkhard and Jody Gladstein built the program after surveying students who transferred into the 655-student school during the 2025-26 year. Those surveys, collected at the start and end of last school year, flagged the everyday hurdles new arrivals face: finding classrooms, navigating the cafeteria, figuring out who to ask for help.

"We wanted to give new students an immediate connection with a peer who could answer their questions, help them find their way and make them feel welcome," Moran said.

Teachers and counselors nominated ambassador candidates from each grade, selecting 12 sixth-graders, 12 seventh-graders and 12 eighth-graders. The criteria: students who are responsible, kind, inclusive and comfortable approaching someone who may feel nervous.

Five of the 36 ambassadors were themselves new to Concord last year. They shared firsthand accounts of what worked and what didn't, helping counselors shape the program before it launched.

Ambassadors trained before the school year began and met incoming students at a summer orientation, where they toured the building together. Once school started, each new arrival got an ambassador who gave a personal tour, joined them for lunch and fielded day-to-day questions. Counselors stay involved throughout.

Interim Principal Daniel Hausermann, who stepped into the role Aug. 1 after former principal Justin Cameron left for Ashland Public Schools, The Concord Bridge reported in July, said the ambassadors gain as much as the students they help. He said they build confidence and leadership skills by using what they know about their school to support someone else.

The school has not announced a formal review date for the program.