All students deserve the opportunity to succeed in school and graduate from high school prepared for the future. But when student needs are so great, it can be difficult to know where to begin. Student success systems take the guesswork out of student support. This two-page resource outlines six steps school leaders can take to implement student success systems.
September 19, 2023 By Robert Balfanz, Director, Everyone Graduates Center As featured in NASBE’s The State Education Standard, September 2023 Volume 23, No. 3 Fostering school connectedness is an effective, universal prevention measure that affects many important student outcomes. Students who are connected to school get better grades, attend more often, have fewer behavioral challenges, graduate from high school, and go to college at higher rates than their disconnected peers. Schools can, by themselves, act on the elements that drive connection: They can establish baselines, identify improvement strategies, measure impact, and then work to continually improve. Read the full…
Despite similar graduation rates, rural students attend college at a much lower rate than their urban and suburban counterparts (AASA Rural Equity Report, 2017; Flora & Flora, 2013). In some states, this gap in postsecondary enrollment reaches as high as 20% (Pierson & Hanson, 2015). This issue appears to have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as the number of rural students filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) decreased by a whopping 18% from 2019 to 2020 (FSA, 2019-2020). These patterns are especially prevalent in highly competitive postsecondary programs (Byun, Irvin, and Meece 2015; Koricich et…
In the school environment, mental health problems adversely affect students’ attention span in the classroom, aptitude for learning or study, and engagement in intramural and extramural activities; a situation intensified among students from vulnerable populations. Early detection combined with appropriate services and resources can change a child’s trajectory from a path of severe mental health issues to one of wellness and full participation in school and community life. This comprehensive guide for educators draws on the importance of connectedness and student-centered standards of practice, both core component of high-quality student success systems. It offers lesson plans and worksheets to…
Implementing student success systems begins with leveraging existing school practices and frameworks like Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) and Early Warning Systems (EWS). This new guide offers a framing for understanding how MTSS and EWS are related, and how they align within student success Systems. The examination and integration ensures that people and processes are prepared to expand existing practices to create a single holistic system integrating supportive relationships that use actionable data with student-centered mindsets toward a process of analyzing and acting on data.
Creating a student success system that enables your school to provide the learning environment, experiences, relationships, and supports all students need to thrive in school is an on-going, adaptive process; especially since school and community capacities and student needs continually shift. These team reflection and action planning tools use a set of questions to guide inquiry, potential data sources, and related “look fors” that are focused on key attributes of effective student success systems. They are intended to spark courageous conversations that lead to reflection, collaboration, and innovation. For Student Success Teams This team reflection and action planning tool is designed…
These currated resources of practical guidance and training materials on how to implement early warning and on-track systems to enable greater high school graduation and postsecondary success outcomes for all students were developed by districts and state departments of education who have implemented early warning and on-track systems, as well as leading non-profit organizations that have supported schools, districts, and states in this work.