Check & Connect is an intervention used with K-12 students who shows warning signs of disengagement with school and who are at risk of dropping out. At the core of Check & Connect is a trusting relationship between the student and a caring, trained mentor who both advocates for and challenges the student to keep education salient. Students are referred to Check & Connect when they show warning signs of disengaging from school, such as poor attendance, behavioral issues, and/or low grades.
In Check & Connect, the "Check" component refers to the process where mentors systematically monitor student performance variables (e.g., absences, tardies, behavioral referrals, grades), while the "Connect" component refers to mentors providing personalized, timely interventions to help students solve problems, build skills, and enhance competence. Mentors work with caseloads of students and families for at least two years, functioning as liaisons between home and school and striving to build constructive family-school relationships.
Check & Connect can be considered a Tier 2 intervention if it is the first intervention attempted but is often considered at Tier 3 intervention due to the individualized nature of the intervention.
Additional Resources for Check and Connect:
- Website and blog www.checkandconnect.umn.edu
This website has a wealth of resources for Check and Connect Coordinators and Mentors
Resources from Check and Connect Training on 11-6-17:
- C&C PowerPoint.pptx
- C&C Parent Engagement Excerpt
- C&C Goal Setting Form
- C&C Attend-Engage-Invest Handout
- C&C Handout on Risk and Protective Factors
- C&C SMART Goal Setting Handout
- C&C Data Collection Form 1
- C&C Data Collection Form 2