Positive Student Success

Impact to My Classroom

# of Students Impacted: 323

At the beginning of the school year, a bulletin board was set up at the main entry, displaying the differences between a fixed mindset to one that is positive and flexible.  The board is colorful and eyecatching, which helps students and visitors to the building ponder about their own thinking strategies. It has helped start conversations with parents/guardians and led to making them an active part of their child's educational team.  Those parents that do not speak English, I have been able to explain to them in their primary language, what it is all about and how they can become their child's "cheerleader" as we journey together through the last few years of high school.

Initially, I met with students in their classrooms and presented them with a color coded folder.  The folder included color coded course sequence sheets, weekly trackers, monthly calendars, a self-assessment, action plans and mindset information.  The purpose and use of these sheets were explained in a large group setting initially during the first month of school. Personalizing this experience, I started meeting one on one with the students and reviewed their self assessments and helped them concentrate on areas they were having difficulties.  We continued to monitor credits and course progress as the first quarter continued.  An area of concern that I saw for many of our students was the difficulties they experienced in managing their time in class or at home and the rate at which they completed units within a course.  This prompted me to work closer with them on what was occurring in the classroom and bringing the teacher on board with this experience.  The teachers became a second mentor to our population as we moved into the second and third quarter of the school year.

Focusing on the difficulties and praising their achievements, students slowly began to use their weekly trackers to determine where they were in their course progress.  The students continued to meet with me and together we reviewed their daily, weekly and monthly progress.  There were many students that had a difficult time at the beginning keeping written information in their folders but as time progressed, it became familiar to them and knowing that I was going to be checking in on them along with their teacher, and the positive behavior support incentives, may have had made impact.   Also the fact that parents became more involved in their child's progress, may also have assisted in making this a success. Together we looked at strategies to improve their progress, it does take a village.

Students continue to monitor their progress, strategies and time management.  Our meetings continue as we are entering the fourth quarter and graduation is two months away.  They have come a long way and many of the students are meeting their graduation requirements.  Our 2019 cohort or junior class, is moving along and I hope that next year at this time we will have a greater number of students involved and ready to graduate.  Being an alternative school where students are sent as a last chance to graduate, I have to say that they are doing it, they are doing their absolute best to beat the odds and be ready to move on to their post-secondary adventure.  Learning how to be successful in the short term they are going to be carrying skills with them that can help them for a lifetime. 

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