Check & Connect An evidence-based comprehensive student engagement model Check & Connect Overview Check & Connect is a structured mentoring intervention to promote student success and engagement at school and with learning through relationship building and systematic This photograph and the remaining stock photos use of data. were used with permission from Microsoft. 6 Check & Connect Assumptions • C&C is based on the following assumptions: – Leaving school prior to graduation is not an instantaneous event – Solving the dropout problem requires partnership – Students must be empowered to take over their own behavior – Schools must be designed to reach out to families in partnership with the community 7 Check & Connect Comprehensive Implementation Training checkandconnect.umn.edu
Fit With Existing Initiatives Intensive 5% Targeted 15% Universal 80% 8 Fidelity of Implementation • Relationship building Mentor Mentor • Long-term commitment • Persistence-Plus • Systematic monitoring Check Check • Focus on alterable variables •Problem solving •Capacity building Connect Connect •Personalized, data-based intervention •Promoting participation/affiliation with school Engagement Engagement • Connect, partner, and engage with with Families with Families parents/families Focus on School Completion Check & Connect emphasizes school completion rather than dropout prevention • School completion = high school graduation with academic and social competence • Merely keeping students in school until graduation is not sufficient 10 Check & Connect Comprehensive Implementation Training checkandconnect.umn.edu
Foundational Theories Cognitive- Cognitive- Systems Systems Intrinsic Intrinsic Resilience Resilience behavioral behavioral theory theory motivation motivation theory theory Empower Empower Build Build Consider Consider students students protective protective home, home, I can, I can, to take to take factors, factors, school, school, I want to, I want to, control of control of reduce reduce and and I belong I belong their their risk factors risk factors community community learning learning 11 Student Engagement • Defined as: – commitment to and investment in learning – identification and belonging at school • Associated with positive educational outcomes for students 12 Student Engagement in C&C Observable Internal Engagement Engagement Academic Academic Cognitive Behavioral Behavioral Affective 13 Check & Connect Comprehensive Implementation Training checkandconnect.umn.edu
Focus on Alterable Variables Alterable variables - indicators of disengagement that are readily available to school personnel and can be altered through intervention. Status Alterable – Age – Attendance – Metro status and region – Attitude toward school – Disability – Extracurricular participation – Socioeconomic status – Behavior – Ethnicity – Homework – Gender – Grades, credit accrual – Family structure 14 11 Implementation Steps 1. Determine indicators of student disengagement 2. Identify students at risk of disengagement or dropout 3. Select or hire mentors 4. Organize existing resources for intervention 5. Get to know students, teachers, and parents 6. Use “check” procedures and the monitoring form 7. Implement “connect” interventions 8. Strengthen the family-school relationship 9. Monitor the person-environment fit 10. Provide mentor support and supervision 11. Evaluate program implementation 16 Stages to Getting Started A. Identify students at-risk of disengaging B. Determine your capacity to serve C. Hire/assign staff to coordinator and mentor positions D. Mentors “check” and “connect” with identified students E. Mentors engage with families 17 Check & Connect Comprehensive Implementation Training checkandconnect.umn.edu
A. Identify Target Population • Determine who the students in your school at-risk of disengaging are • Establish criteria for participation in C&C – Emphasize academic and behavioral indicators of engagement – data are readily available • Behavioral: absences, office referrals, suspension, limited extracurricular participation • Academic: low rates of work completion, reading below grade level, failing classes, below proficiency on state tests, credit deficiency, low time on task 18 Early Warning Signs • Attendance – Absent 10% or more of school days • Behavior – Two or more mild or more serious behavior infractions • Course performance – An inability to read at grade level by the end of 3rd grade; – A failure in English or math in 6th through 9th grades; – A GPA of less than 2.0; – Two or more failures in 9th grade; and – Failure to earn on-time promotion to 10th grade. (Balfanz, Bridgeland, Bruce, Fox, 2012) More information about EWS: http://www.betterhighschools.org/ews.asp 19 B. Determine Prevalence and Capacity • Determine prevalence of the target population and capacity Intensive 5% to serve Check & Connec – One hour per 1.25 Targeted students/week (i.e., 25 students t 15% for a .50 mentor) – With existing staff, 1-5 students/mentor • Consider interventions already Universal in place to support students 80% • Invite participants 20 Check & Connect Comprehensive Implementation Training checkandconnect.umn.edu
Criteria • Set specific criteria for selected indicators of disengagement – Sample criteria: • Secondary school: students who attend < 80-90% of the time, have 3 disciplinary referrals, and one or more failing grades in a semester • Elementary school: students with less than 88% attendance and performing academically in the bottom quartile of their class • Identify the population of students who are displaying these warning signs 21 C. Hire Check & Connect Coordinator and Mentors Hires, Coordinates, Supervises, Provides Professional Development, and Evaluates Mentors Monitors Initiates Fidelity Progress (Process) Toward Outcomes Coordinator 23 Desirable Mentor Characteristics • A personal belief: – That all students have abilities, strengths, can learn, can make progress, and can change their level of engagement at school and with learning – In the power and value of problem solving with students to develop personal competencies 24 Check & Connect Comprehensive Implementation Training checkandconnect.umn.edu
Who Can Serve as a Check & Connect Mentor? • Hire from outside the school – BA in education or human service field – Experience working with youth – Caseloads of 20-25 students (part-time) to 40-50 (full-time) • Existing school staff – Teachers, case managers, counselors, school psychologists, social workers, educational assistants – Provide a stipend or release from duties – Caseloads of 1-4 students • Community volunteers – AmeriCorps – Other 25 D. Mentors “Check” with Students • Mentors systematically monitor students’ level of engagement and educational progress (Check) • Essential for students at risk of disengagement or dropout because it provides: – Early warning of signs of disengagement – A systematic and efficient way to monitor students’ progress and provide interventions 27 Systematic Monitoring (cont.) • What is checked? “Check” data are selected indicators of alterable risk for disengagement: – Absences - Grades - Credits accrued – Tardiness - Behavioral referrals – Missing assignments • How are students' data generally accessed? – Online student information system – Student records – School personnel such as attendance clerks and teachers 28 Check & Connect Comprehensive Implementation Training checkandconnect.umn.edu
Check: Monitoring Sheet • Mentors use a monitoring form to check student educational progress (attendance, grades, credits, etc.) 29 Systematic Monitoring (cont.) • How often is a student’s performance checked? – At least weekly – More often, even daily, if the student is showing increased signs of disengagement • How can the monitoring form be used? – As a communication tool with students, parents, and teachers – To demonstrate student progress over time – To monitor fidelity of implementation 30 Systematic Monitoring (cont.) 31 Check & Connect Comprehensive Implementation Training checkandconnect.umn.edu
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