Check & Connect An evidence-based comprehensive student - - PDF document

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Check & Connect An evidence-based comprehensive student - - PDF document

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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

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Check & Connect Comprehensive Implementation Training

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Check & Connect

An evidence-based comprehensive student engagement model

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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 use of data.

This photograph and the remaining stock photos were used with permission from Microsoft.

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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

  • wn behavior

– Schools must be designed to reach out to families in partnership with the community

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Fit With Existing Initiatives

Universal 80% Targeted 15% Intensive 5%

Fidelity of Implementation

  • Relationship building
  • Long-term commitment
  • Persistence-Plus

Mentor Mentor

  • Systematic monitoring
  • Focus on alterable variables

Check Check

  • Problem solving
  • Capacity building
  • Personalized, data-based intervention
  • Promoting participation/affiliation with school

Connect Connect

  • Connect, partner, and engage with

parents/families

Engagement with Families Engagement with Families

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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

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Foundational Theories

Resilience Resilience

Build protective factors, reduce risk factors Build protective factors, reduce risk factors

Systems theory Systems theory

Consider home, school, and community Consider home, school, and community

Cognitive- behavioral theory Cognitive- behavioral theory

Empower students to take control of their learning Empower students to take control of their learning

Intrinsic motivation Intrinsic motivation

I can, I want to, I belong I can, I want to, I belong

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Student Engagement

  • Defined as:

– commitment to and investment in learning – identification and belonging at school

  • Associated with positive

educational outcomes for students

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Student Engagement in C&C

Academic Academic Cognitive Behavioral Behavioral Affective

Observable Engagement Internal Engagement

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Focus on Alterable Variables

Status

– Age – Metro status and region – Disability – Socioeconomic status – Ethnicity – Gender – Family structure

Alterable

– Attendance – Attitude toward school – Extracurricular participation – Behavior – Homework – Grades, credit accrual

Alterable variables - indicators of disengagement that are readily available to school personnel and can be altered through intervention.

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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

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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
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  • 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

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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

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  • B. Determine Prevalence and

Capacity

  • Determine prevalence of the

target population and capacity to serve

– One hour per 1.25 students/week (i.e., 25 students for a .50 mentor) – With existing staff, 1-5 students/mentor

  • Consider interventions already

in place to support students

  • Invite participants

Universal 80% Targeted 15% Intensive 5%

Check & Connec t

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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

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  • C. Hire Check & Connect Coordinator

and Mentors

Coordinator

Initiates Fidelity (Process) Hires, Coordinates, Supervises, Provides Professional Development, and Evaluates Mentors Monitors Progress Toward Outcomes 24

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

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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

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  • D. Mentors “Check” with Students
  • Mentors systematically monitor students’

level of engagement and educational progress (Check)

  • Essential for students at risk of disengagement
  • r dropout because it provides:

– Early warning of signs of disengagement – A systematic and efficient way to monitor students’ progress and provide interventions

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Systematic Monitoring (cont.)

  • What is checked? “Check” data are selected

indicators of alterable risk for disengagement:

– Absences – Tardiness – Missing assignments

  • How are students' data generally accessed?

– Online student information system – Student records – School personnel such as attendance clerks and teachers

  • Grades
  • Credits accrued
  • Behavioral referrals
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Check: Monitoring Sheet

  • Mentors use

a monitoring form to check student educational progress (attendance, grades, credits, etc.)

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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

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Systematic Monitoring (cont.)

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  • D. Mentors “Connect” with Students
  • Connect interventions are data-based and

personalized

  • Mentors match intervention to student need – use

“check” data to determine type and level of risk of disengagement – All targeted students receive basic interventions – Students showing high-risk behaviors receive additional intensive interventions

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STUDENT RISK, BROAD GOAL AREAS, & SMART GOALS: How do they fit together?

Assess Risk in Attendance, Behavior, Coursework

Is student Medium

  • r High Risk in

Attendance Is student Medium

  • r High Risk in

Behavior Is student Medium

  • r High Risk in

Coursework

YES YES YES YES YES YES Goal Area Endorse Attendance Goal Area Goal Area Endorse Behavior Goal Area Goal Area Endorse Coursework Goal Area

So…Medium or High Risk lead to Broad Goals.

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  • E. Mentors Engage with Families
  • Mentors strengthen the family-

school relationship through:

– Positive, relationship-based, and advocacy-focus – Acting as home-school liaisons – Frequent, consistent communication – Keeping the focus of family-school connections on the student’s educational performance – Encouraging home support of learning – Home visits – Responding to parents’ questions

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Additional Implementation Steps

  • Organize existing resources for intervention
  • Coordinators provide support to mentors
  • Monitor the person-environment fit

– Consider how the environment could be changed to better support the student

  • Evaluate program implementation

– How do you know Check & Connect is working in your school?

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Research

  • C&C has been implemented with K-12 students

with and without disabilities in the U.S. and abroad, addressing:

– Attendance/truancy – Behavior – Literacy – Student engagement

  • Two randomized control trials, four replications
  • Current: Four efficacy trials of C&C underway, all in

large urban U.S. school districts

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Findings

Reduced absences Reduced tardiness to school/class Decreased dropout rates Reduced behavior referrals Increased credit accrual Increased persistence rates Increased graduation rates Perceived increase in parent participation

(Sinclair et al., 1998; 2005)

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Recognition

  • Check & Connect has met the evidence

standards of the What Works Clearinghouse (2006): http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/

– The only dropout prevention intervention to show positive effects for staying in school

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Check & Connect Training

  • Washington State cadre
  • f trainers (OSPI, Krissy

Johnson)

  • Implementation and

Mentor Trainings

  • Webinars
  • Technical Assistance
  • Follow-up Implementation

Workshop

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Check & Connect Resources

  • Website with research findings, implementation tools,

student engagement instrument, national C&C news, and more at checkandconnect.umn.edu

  • Sign up to receive monthly C&C News & Resources

emails with implementation tips, blog posts, upcoming trainings, and national news and resources.

  • Follow Check & Connect via social media:

– Blog: attendengageinvest.wordpress.com – Facebook: Search under “Check & Connect” – Twitter: @CheckandConnect

  • Contact Shelley Seslar: shelleys@ncesd.org ~ 509-665-2610