'Success Coaches' See Positive Impact In First Year
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
According to Sariah Morgan, program coordinator, “KC-Ed promotes graduation, one relationship at a time. One of the things we have found as the Graduation Coaches work with seniors is that we need to address the issues earlier with students.”
JoElla Smyth, Edgewood Middle School principal, was instrumental in getting the Success Coaches in place.
Several years ago, when local graduation rates hovered around 75 percent, a committee of community and school members got together to form KC-Ed, Smyth said. Local State Farm provided seed money to put Graduation Coaches in place at the local high schools.
From the onset, people like Smyth realized targeting high schoolers may be too late to keep students in school. She advocated for something at the middle school level.
In the following year, KC-Ed worked with Kids Hope and Big Brothers/Big Sisters to get volunteers to mentor elementary students. It was difficult to get volunteers to work with students at the middle school level. Smyth continued to push for something at the middle school level.
Working with Stephanie Overbey from the Kosciusko County Community Foundation and Morgan, they got the Dekko Foundation to hear their vision of how to reach junior high students.
“Dekko came in and was able to fund one Success Coach for each middle school in Kosciusko County,” Smyth said.
The coaches were put into place at Tippecanoe Valley, Warsaw and Wawasee for the 2012-13 school year.
“Each coach works with up to 15 students per cohort and each school has been given the opportunity to shape their program that best meets their children's needs,” Morgan said.
Lakeview Middle School Success Coach Emily Shearer said, “We have three goals: to improve attendance, to improve academic performance and decrease discipline referrals. The overall goal is to increase students’ connectedness to school.”
She meets with the Lakeview Success Club every Wednesday after school until about 4:30 p.m. Transportation is provided via a grant.
Shearer said students get homework help, make crafts for nursing homes, decorate cookies, participate in soccer club and do other activities that increase connectedness.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with them, seeing the students grow. They’ve really matured a lot and have been more successful in school,” Shearer said.
Amy Evans works with about 15 students at Milford School, mostly seventh-graders. Some students not in the program have started to do some of the activities, she said.
Her program is fitted toward the students’ needs and why they are in the program in the first place. She meets with students at lunch, after school or on weekends.
“If you ask a student what their program is, it will be different for every student,” Evans said.
They work on whatever the student’s goal is. Once a student reaches a goal, Evans will take a student out on an adventure.
“It is making an impact,” she said. “The data shows the program is improving students’ academics and absentee rates. ... It’s amazing what this program has done for students.”
Smyth said the success rate is huge. Being a coach takes someone who can connect with students and build positive relationships with them in a non-threatening way. Coaches hold the students accountable, but also are there to help with their homework, mentor them and listen.
At Edgewood, music teacher Dan Beam serves as the Success Coach. He meets with students from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
“Some of the kids have adopted him as an after-school parent because they don’t want to go home to an empty house or need help with their homework,” Smyth said.
“It has significantly improved our ‘D’ and ‘F’ range,” she noted. “It’s not a big party time. We chose a personal time built around building relationships in a safe and secure environment. The ones who are involved, we are seeing a huge difference.”
Next year, all the seventh-graders involved in Success Club will be asked to return. Eighth-graders will feed into the Graduation Coaches or Step One programs at the high school.
“It’s not like they’re left hanging,” Shearer said.
Also next year, Shearer said she hopes to have community members come in and be mentors to the students or help them with homework. “That will be something I’ll work on this summer,” she said.
Milford eighth-grader Kristine Beans needed a little push to improve her academics.
“Now I’m getting my homework in. I used to never do homework. I used to go home and do other stuff,” Beans stated.
Beam said it’s the one-on-one relationships with students that he’s able to build with them that makes the program a success.
“The one-on-one has been the strong card that helps the students in the program find success. Kids in the program need someone who shows genuine concern for them. It has given me a new perspective on student personalities and learning. Also, it has given me an opportunity to draw closer to students that I don’t have in class,” Beam stated.
Evans said Wawasee Schools is considering adding a summer program this year to get eighth-graders ready for high school. It basically would be for at-risk kids to get them involved in something at the high school and spark their interest.
Next year the program will become even more important, Smyth said, because the school corporation won’t be able to apply for the state’s intervention grant because of new rules. That means during the school day, schools like Edgewood won’t be able to offer intervention.
“The after-school program has, I think, made a difference,” she said.
“I really hope Dekko continues the program because we need it,” Evans said.
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According to Sariah Morgan, program coordinator, “KC-Ed promotes graduation, one relationship at a time. One of the things we have found as the Graduation Coaches work with seniors is that we need to address the issues earlier with students.”
JoElla Smyth, Edgewood Middle School principal, was instrumental in getting the Success Coaches in place.
Several years ago, when local graduation rates hovered around 75 percent, a committee of community and school members got together to form KC-Ed, Smyth said. Local State Farm provided seed money to put Graduation Coaches in place at the local high schools.
From the onset, people like Smyth realized targeting high schoolers may be too late to keep students in school. She advocated for something at the middle school level.
In the following year, KC-Ed worked with Kids Hope and Big Brothers/Big Sisters to get volunteers to mentor elementary students. It was difficult to get volunteers to work with students at the middle school level. Smyth continued to push for something at the middle school level.
Working with Stephanie Overbey from the Kosciusko County Community Foundation and Morgan, they got the Dekko Foundation to hear their vision of how to reach junior high students.
“Dekko came in and was able to fund one Success Coach for each middle school in Kosciusko County,” Smyth said.
The coaches were put into place at Tippecanoe Valley, Warsaw and Wawasee for the 2012-13 school year.
“Each coach works with up to 15 students per cohort and each school has been given the opportunity to shape their program that best meets their children's needs,” Morgan said.
Lakeview Middle School Success Coach Emily Shearer said, “We have three goals: to improve attendance, to improve academic performance and decrease discipline referrals. The overall goal is to increase students’ connectedness to school.”
She meets with the Lakeview Success Club every Wednesday after school until about 4:30 p.m. Transportation is provided via a grant.
Shearer said students get homework help, make crafts for nursing homes, decorate cookies, participate in soccer club and do other activities that increase connectedness.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with them, seeing the students grow. They’ve really matured a lot and have been more successful in school,” Shearer said.
Amy Evans works with about 15 students at Milford School, mostly seventh-graders. Some students not in the program have started to do some of the activities, she said.
Her program is fitted toward the students’ needs and why they are in the program in the first place. She meets with students at lunch, after school or on weekends.
“If you ask a student what their program is, it will be different for every student,” Evans said.
They work on whatever the student’s goal is. Once a student reaches a goal, Evans will take a student out on an adventure.
“It is making an impact,” she said. “The data shows the program is improving students’ academics and absentee rates. ... It’s amazing what this program has done for students.”
Smyth said the success rate is huge. Being a coach takes someone who can connect with students and build positive relationships with them in a non-threatening way. Coaches hold the students accountable, but also are there to help with their homework, mentor them and listen.
At Edgewood, music teacher Dan Beam serves as the Success Coach. He meets with students from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
“Some of the kids have adopted him as an after-school parent because they don’t want to go home to an empty house or need help with their homework,” Smyth said.
“It has significantly improved our ‘D’ and ‘F’ range,” she noted. “It’s not a big party time. We chose a personal time built around building relationships in a safe and secure environment. The ones who are involved, we are seeing a huge difference.”
Next year, all the seventh-graders involved in Success Club will be asked to return. Eighth-graders will feed into the Graduation Coaches or Step One programs at the high school.
“It’s not like they’re left hanging,” Shearer said.
Also next year, Shearer said she hopes to have community members come in and be mentors to the students or help them with homework. “That will be something I’ll work on this summer,” she said.
Milford eighth-grader Kristine Beans needed a little push to improve her academics.
“Now I’m getting my homework in. I used to never do homework. I used to go home and do other stuff,” Beans stated.
Beam said it’s the one-on-one relationships with students that he’s able to build with them that makes the program a success.
“The one-on-one has been the strong card that helps the students in the program find success. Kids in the program need someone who shows genuine concern for them. It has given me a new perspective on student personalities and learning. Also, it has given me an opportunity to draw closer to students that I don’t have in class,” Beam stated.
Evans said Wawasee Schools is considering adding a summer program this year to get eighth-graders ready for high school. It basically would be for at-risk kids to get them involved in something at the high school and spark their interest.
Next year the program will become even more important, Smyth said, because the school corporation won’t be able to apply for the state’s intervention grant because of new rules. That means during the school day, schools like Edgewood won’t be able to offer intervention.
“The after-school program has, I think, made a difference,” she said.
“I really hope Dekko continues the program because we need it,” Evans said.
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