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Check & Connect
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THE CHECK & CONNECT MODEL
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Check & Connect Intervention Model
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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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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Initial Development
• 1990: Awarded five-year development grant from the Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education
• Collaborative effort between researchers at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration (ICI) and professionals in Minneapolis Public Schools
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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 schools in the U.S. and Canada
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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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Fit With Existing Initiatives
Universal80%
Targeted15%
Intensive5%
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The Check & Connect Team Model
Student
C&C Coordinator
Administrative Team
School Staff
Family
Mentor
Community Services
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Four Core Components and Essential Elements
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Foundational Theories
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CHECK & CONNECT IMPLEMENTATION IN UTAH
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UNDERSTANDING CHECK & CONNECT STUDENTS
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Disengaged Students
Check & Connect targets marginalized, disengaged students in grades K-12
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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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Focus on Alterable Variables
Alterable variables: indicators of disengagement that are readily available to school personnel and can be altered through intervention.
Alterable – Attendance– Attitude toward school– Extracurricular participation– Behavior– Homework– Grades, credit accrual
Status – Age– Metro status and region– Disability– Socioeconomic status– Ethnicity– Gender– Family structure
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THE CHECK & CONNECT MENTOR
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Check & Connect Mentor
“The single most important thing that children need to grow into healthy adults is the presence of one person who is irrationally attached to them.” (Darling, 2005, p. 185)
The Check & Connect mentor can be that caring adult!
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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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Desirable Mentor Characteristics (cont.)
• A willingness to: – Be a mentor (i.e., “wanting to rather than being
obligated to”)– Persist with students despite their behavior and
decision making– Cooperate and collaborate with families and
school staff
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Long-Term Relationship Building
James Andersen, 2014 National Mentoring Summit
The first three to four months, I was thinking, “When are you going to leave?” The fifth and sixth months I’m thinking, “You’re showing pity, you pity me, you don’t care about me.” By the eighteenth month I’m like, “This person loves me, because I have nothing to offer and they are showing they are not trying to use me.” So stick in their lives through thick and thin.
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A Day in the Life of a Mentor
Supplemental materials: – A Day in the Life of an Elementary School
Mentor– A Day in the Life of a High School Mentor
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Check & Connect Resources
• Website and blog checkandconnect.umn.edu
• hs.utah.gov/education• schools.utah.gov/yic/• Join the C&C community!
– Sign up to join the Discussion list– Follow our blog & social media: Blog | Facebook | Twitter– Coordinators -- join the Coordinators’ Community of
Practice• Contact us: [email protected] | 866-434-0010
