A+ Mentorship Program
June 2022
A+ Program
- High School: Erin Morris
What data/evaluation criteria illustrates the effectiveness of this area?
Requirements:
-Attend A+ Designated High School for 3+ years
-Graduate with a 2.5 GPA
-Good citizenship
-95% attendance over four years
-50 hours of unpaid tutoring
-Score prof. or adv. on HS Math EOC or meet the ACT math/GPA sliding scale requirement (*waived for Class of 2022)
Aside from the mentoring hours and citizenship, data is pulled directly from SIS. Data is imported it into a spreadsheet tracker quarterly to monitor any areas students, specifically seniors, may have reason for concern.
Of the 112 graduating students of 2022, 88 students were in the A+ Program and 73 were eligible upon graduation. 11 were ineligible due to the attendance requirement, 1 student was ineligible due to the mentoring requirement, and 2 were ineligible for violating the drug and alcohol policy tied to the citizenship requirement.
What has changed since the last program evaluation?
The biggest change is the change of A+ Coordinator. The program is now housed in the counseling department. This has been a convenient change, as many of our duties overlap with the A+ Program. Marilyn White, the Registrar, is responsible for sending all finalized A+ Eligible transcripts after graduation.
Last year, mentoring students were confined to the middle school and high school buildings due to Covid-19 protocols. The guidelines indicate that mentoring should be done with younger students rather than peers. This year students were able to be in the classrooms in the Primary and Elementary buildings.
What next steps would better serve our students?
Next year we are going to allow seniors to mentor for both semesters if they choose. This year, the length of the semesters were lopsided and many students could not complete their 50 hours during the first semester. While the calendar for next year has balanced the semesters, we are still moving forward with letting them mentor both semesters if they choose. Feedback from both students and teachers indicate that “they wish they could stay all year.” We feel this is a great experience for both senior students and the younger students they tutor.
I am going to consult the counselors and administrators in each building when placing mentors. I feel this will better utilize the mentors to ensure they are placed at times and locations where they can really work with the students when most needed (i.e. RTI, reading, etc).
I hope to figure out a way to send out reports exported from SIS to parents of all 9th-12th graders enrolled in the A+ program with updates of where they stand regarding each requirement, especially attendance. Attendance seems to be the main component that students struggle to meet. I think if they are able to see that number each year, it will be more acknowledged at the time of concern, rather than waiting until senior year when it may be too late to make up.