SEBH Using Student Connection Data for Leadership Teams

Click the link below for the

Using Student Connection Data:

Leadership Team Supports module

 

The full version of the module is in the downloadable PDF above. An accessible text version is below.

 

Support Success with Social-Emotional-Behavioral Health (SEBH) Supports - Using Student Connection Data: For Leadership Teams

The Leadership Team module is one of two modules designed to help learn how to analyze student and family connection information. Module also includes action plan ideas. Other modules are available through the Support Success with SEBH Supports.

Purpose & Objectives

This is one of a set of modules that highlight critical considerations and provide universal strategies to support the social-emotional-behavioral health of staff, students, and families during in-person and/or online learning. 

Each module is:

• a “jump-start” to key considerations, with less focus on systemic changes
• designed to be completed in 30 minutes or less
• for educators/teachers
• self-paced but may be facilitated
• optional; educators may use one or more depending on need

Supporting Social-Emotional-Behavioral Health

Staff, family, and student emotional well-being is integral to effective instruction and student engagement. Planning for this support is critical to ensure adults and learners are ready to learn.  

Teachers with Strong Social-Emotional Competence...

• Have less burnout
• Have stronger student relationships
• Regulate their own emotions
• Are social-emotional role models

Students with Strong Social-Emotional Competence...

• Have increased achievement
• Have improved attitudes
• Have less emotional distress
• Have fewer conduct concerns

Alignment to State Priorities and Goals

State Priority: Creating a Safe, Healthy, and Welcoming Learning Environment

• Goal:  All Iowa schools will work with their learners to foster a culture and climate in which they feel safe and supported, and bullying and harassment do not exist.  

• Goal:  All learners will have access to mental health services and supports in their schools and communities.
• Goal:  All schools will create environments that develop social, emotional, and behavioral health. 
• Goal:  All schools will develop physical health for students through structured school programs (e.g., food and nutrition, physical education, wellness programs, etc.)

Connecting to your work

How do these recommendations connect to your work?

The practices outlined in the following modules align to:

• Best practices detailed within many policy expectations for schools
• Evidence Based Practices (EBPs) for SEBH
• Universal Supports for SEBH within an MTSS

The purpose of these resources is to apply EBP for SEBH within the context of a variety of learning contexts including in-person, online, and virtual.

Using Data to Support Student/Family Connections: Leadership Team Supports

Objectives

1. Analyze system-level problems in making student/family connections.
2. Review common areas of need and corresponding practices for improving student/family connections.

Positive and consistent home-school connections are foundational to learning. This is particularly true for remote learning environments.

This module is designed to help leadership teams intentionally connect with and support families and students.

Key Terms

Student/Family Connection – Staff-initiated contact with students and/or the family of the student to establish and maintain a caring and consistent point-of-contact with the school

Touch-Point – Intentional interactions initiated by staff with students/families, providing a consistent point-of-contact for student learning and well-being

Adult-Student/Family Connection (ASC) – 2-way communication between staff and the student and/or the student’s family 

Reached Out (R) – 1-way communication initiated by staff 

Teacher Connection Log Review Process

• Gather student connection logs from all staff
• Assess staff connections with students/families
• Identify patterns within staff connections with students/families
• Identify student or family specific needs
• Develop an action plan

You can use the Student Connection Log - Leadership Team Review to document your review process and action plan.

Part I – Assess Your Connections with Students/Families

1. Determine the expectation for student/family connection.
   • Recommended expectation – Teacher connects with students at least once a week every week, OR
   • District or building-level expectation for connecting with students
2. Calculate the percent of students/families staff reached out to during the weeks and a monthly total.
3. Calculate the percent of students/families staff contacted and achieved a connection during the weeks and a monthly total.
4. Determine whether the expectation was met.
5. Repeat Steps 2–4 for grade levels and subgroups.

Part I – Student/Family Connections

Here is the summary data for North Elementary. Throughout this module, you will see the leadership team’s summary information. Each time, you have the opportunity to review and reflect upon the data set.

Expectation: Reach out to 100% of students/families each week and have an adult-student connection with at least 80% of the students/families each week

Time to Reflect:  Did staff meet the expectation building-wide? What about each grade level?

Part II – Reflect on Your Contacts with Students/Families

• What:

  • Are staff reaching out to students/families as expected? 
  • Are students/families responding to contacts when attempted? 

• How:

  • Which communication method(s) yielded the most responses in connecting with students/families? 
  • Which communication method yielded the least responses? 
  • Which method(s) was used most frequently?

• When:

  • Are there patterns when students/families respond to attempted contacts? 
  • Are there times of the day or days of the week when staff are more successful in connecting with students/families? 
  • If so, when over the course of the day, week, or month?

Part II – Reflect on Your Contacts with Students/Families

• Who:

  • Are there grade-levels or classrooms that have higher numbers of unsuccessful connections? 
  • Are there subgroups that have a higher number of unsuccessful connections? 
  • Are there students/families that staff haven’t been able to contact or connect with during this time?

• Why:

  • What are the barriers to making successful connections? 
  • Do the barriers differ by subgroup, building, grade level, or classroom?

• What additional data should the team review and consider?

Part II

Take some time to review the leadership team’s notes about their answers to the what, how, when, who, and why questions.

• What: 94% of teachers met expectations on attempted communication; however, only 65% of students/families responded to teacher communication
• How : The least effective communication method was email at 20% response rate
• When: Teachers reached out to parents most frequently on Fridays after 3 p.m. Weekly percentages were higher in the beginning of the month and tapered off mid-month 
• Who: All grade levels are below expectations in making successful adult-student connections.  Connections were least successful with students who receive free-and-reduced lunch
• Why: Families may have limited access to email. Families may be less likely to check communication at the end of the week
• Additional Information: Attendance, work submission/completion, and time logged online

Time to Reflect:  What do you notice from the teacher’s reflection?  

Barriers to Reaching Out and Connecting

Barriers and Potential Solution(s)

• Local expectations for communication are unclear
  • Clarify expectations 
• Student contact information not readily available
  • Use secretarial staff to create email contact lists, phone lists, etc. for staff
• Accuracy of contact information
  • Ask secretary to verify contact information
• Language barrier is impacting communication
  • Let staff know about district translation resources (i.e. School Connects, Google Translate, interpreter) and how to request process
• Day of the week or time of the contacts
  • Change day/time of making contacts, encourage staff to maintain consistent pattern of communication so families and students can plan to receive communication
• Effectiveness of communication method (e.g., phone, email, text, driveway visit)
  • Ask staff to try alternate communication method(s), survey parents/students to determine preferred method for communication
• Lack of adequate time to make connections
  • Schedule and provide protected time for staff to reach out, ask staff to schedule office hours, teach staff to provide recorded group messages (e.g., recorded Zooms, YouTube) accessible 24/7  

Reflection Time!

Using the team’s reflection and the strategies you just read about, what might be some potential solutions the team could try?

Part III – Identify Student/Family Needs

• Identify student/family needs from the Conditions for Learning survey, locally developed survey, or from staff referrals.
• Identify the number of referrals received each week
• Calculate the percent of referrals by category
  • Basic Needs (e.g., food, housing, childcare, health care)
  • Social and Emotional Well-Being
  • Technology Needs
• Calculate the percent of needs met
• Identify the most common and least common needs
• Identify any additional resources that the team needs to seek out to support students and parents

Part IV – Develop a System-Level Action Plan

• Write a problem statement based on your data and team reflections
• Identify hypothesis (-es) of what the team thinks will impact student/family connections
• Identify the system-wide goal for the next time frame
• Identify the specific action steps the team will take to maintain or improve your student/family connections

Part IV – Action Plan

The leadership team wrote a summary problem statement and established a goal for next month. Keep these in mind as you read about the team’s action steps on the next slide.

Problem Statement: 

94% of teachers met expectations on attempted communication; however, only 65% of students/families responded to teacher communication. Email was the most used communication method but had the lowest response rate at only 20%. Weekly percentages were higher in the beginning of the month and tapered off mid-month, and communication was most frequently attempted on Fridays after 3:00 p.m. The rates of communication were consistent across grade levels; however, the response rate was lower from those students and families who receive free and reduced lunch. We believe this is because families may have limited access to email and may also be less likely to check communication at the end of the week. 

Goal: 

In the next month, staff will reach out to 95% of the students/families each week and connect with at least 80% of them.

Actions:

1. Survey parents via email, text, and phone to find out their preferred method of contact.
2. Schedule protected time for each staff member to contact students/families using their preferred method of communication.
3. Let staff know about the interpreter request process.

Follow-Up Activity #1: Team Planning

It’s your turn!  

You just learned how to review student connection data as a leadership team. Go and get your data and complete the review protocol with your team members. It’s good practice meet monthly as a leadership team to review the data to ensure staff are connecting with your students and families.

• Complete each part of the Student Connection Log - Leadership Team Review 
• Work with your Leadership Team to develop an action plan

Follow-Up Activity #2: Additional Strategies to Improving 2-Way Connections

Here are three additional strategies for the team to consider using in the action plan. Take time as a team to dig into the resources and determine which ones you may want to share with staff to add to the  ‘toolbox’ of relationship resources.

Review the additional strategies and resources as a Leadership Team. Identify at least one to share with staff in the upcoming month.

1. Revisit Student/Family preferences in making connections
   1. Survey family preferences for the method and day/time of communication
   2. Consider relationship mapping to identify positive connections (virtual) (in-person) 
   3. Review Best Practices in Family School Engagement
2. Build Relationships
   1. Check in with the parent/student as a person – validating challenges and efforts
   2. Consider adopting a structuring conversation  
      • Family + Student Wellness Check-In
      • 5-Minute Chats 
   3. Engage in additional relationship activities to build resilience 
3. Give opportunities to request additional check-ins (i.e. Distance learning check-in)
   1. Ensure timely follow-up
   2. Consider developmental age of student and format of response
   3. Limit depth of questioning in survey form. Reserve deeper questions for personal