Patricia Is a Behavior Interventionist and C&C Mentor at Georgia Cyber Academy (GCA). GCA is 100% online and serves about 9,000 students from all over the state. Patricia has 27 students on her roster in grades 9-12.
How are students assigned to C&C at Georgia Cyber Academy (GCA)?
Students are assigned to me because their attendance and grades are lacking or far behind. I have several students that are about to be 21 trying to graduate. A lot of times they’ll come to us from brick and mortar because it just wasn’t a good fit for them and they’re really behind. Or they’re on the verge of dropping out. But they come to Georgia Cyber to see if it might work for them.
We look at truancies, which start at 5 unexcused. We also look at students two or more grade levels behind. But because I’m in the behavior department, they might be just one level behind and their reading is okay, but they don’t turn in any work. It doesn’t match so that’s why they’ll get assigned to us, as well.
What relationship building strategies help you build trust with your students?
Ease into it – I’ll start to pop into their class. We try not to meet in an academic class if we can help it. A lot of our students have credit recovery so that’s where we try and connect with them. But I have a couple of students that come to my jigsaw room (program we use for classrooms). I have one student who just left living with their mom and is now with dad. It took some time but eventually I learned about the situation.
Reassure them – I tell them they’re not in trouble and say, “I’m trying to help you think of ways we can do things differently and get your attendance on track.” I want them to know that I’m there to help them.
Get to know them – ask questions. Every time I meet with a student, I write down what we talked about and what we did. Maybe their granny’s sick. I write it down to remind myself and ask how granny is doing the next time. Those little things mean a lot because they don’t have that human interaction.
Have a sense of humor. You have to make fun of yourself. I like to joke that “I’m old–what do we do…what are we working on?” And that’s what I work really hard on, it’s different with every student.
Individualize to the student – Learn what makes them tick, some kids love praise and some kids love when you call home. We have a program, Securely, where I can see them working hard. I’ll send them a message, “I see you working hard on that math test – good job. I hope you get a great grade.” And then we’ll talk about it when I see them. Sometimes they’ll play cool, “oh, you’re so annoying, Miss B,” but I can tell they like when I’m checking on them.
How do you communicate with their teachers?
At the beginning, we’ll send the teachers a letter like we send to families and students. I try to be respectful, professional and communicate. I ask if it’s okay if I come into their class. The teachers and I will end up working together. I have a student that is absent a lot but her teacher will message me, “she’s here” and I say “here I come!” And some will send me a message when I come into class, “look at this test, they did awesome.”
What do your connect meetings look and sound like? What strategies have been helpful when promoting their engagement and then developing their competencies?
I try and check in at the beginning of the week to see what’s going on and make a plan. Often times they’re so disorganized. Take baby steps, “what do you want to work on?” or “what’s the class that gives you the most grief?” I love Google Keep as a system to track their assignments for the week. All they have to do is click on it and it brings them right to the assignment. And every time I meet with a student I ask, “is there anything I can help you with?” Some kids just don’t want to ask.
I’ll come back at the end of the week. In a breakout room, we’ll look over their assignment completion from the week. They may have only finished four assignments out of 20, so we problem solve and figure out something better. Sometimes we’ll do fun things like a virtual field trip. But for the most part I’m working with them and building up their confidence. Even if they might be failing every class but in credit recovery they have a 95. I point out that 95. That might be their only glimmer of hope at the moment. I try and focus on those wins, even if they’re small, big, medium, whatever.
What has engaging families looked like for you?
Initially we send a letter to the parent, which we call the learning coach at GCA. They may ask when I’ll meet with their student. I’ll ask them what class would be best. I like to have those open conversations because they know their child. In our department we need to make at least 5 engaging phone calls to our parents every 6 weeks. This kicks my brain to remember because getting parents on the phone can be hard. Over phone or email, I let them know how their students is doing week to week, whether it’s completing half their assignments to 80% of them or it’s letting them know they haven’t turned in any work that week. And it’s funny, the next day look at Johnny go on his work! When I reach out I start with a positive and then when there’s something negative, it’s easy to work it in. It definitely helps with that engagement because one of my parents, whose student I had last year, now emails me all the time with her questions.
Is there ever an opportunity to meet the students and parents in-person?
The school hosts Community Days all over Georgia twice a year. Staff, students and families attend. It’s like a festival and it’s super fun. It gets quite a turn out and it’s an opportunity to make that connection and hang out. Plus, GCA does all kinds of other events for families, like museums and community events. We also have spring testing where they all go in-person.
Any other advice you’d like to share with new mentors?
Family engagement can be challenging, don’t take it personally. Parents have a lot going on. And don’t get discouraged if it’s hard to connect with a student. Take your time, keep checking in on them, keep digging for information and really listen to them. Show them that you care and don’t give up.
A big thank you to Patricia for sharing her insight and experience as a C&C mentor. Her care and dedication is inspiring. And we also thank Georgia Cyber Academy for their commitment to culivating relationships and optimizing student engagement in the cyber environment.
Find ways to accelerate the academic growth of struggling students or answer questions about implementing C&C now at checkandconnect@umn.edu.
Join our community on Slack! Connect and grow!
Attend, Engage, Invest 