Solving Social Distancing for Kids

Utilizing the fundamental, underlying concepts of the researched based program “Check and Connect” from the University of Minnesota, we propose that school personnel be set up to reach out to families/students in partnership, to:

• Maintain the positive relationships necessary to student social/emotional/behavioral success and commitment to learning;

• Engage students and families in learning in the context of the pandemic, stay at home orders and social distancing and the context within which the family is currently living;

• Connect families/students to community resources when required to ensure families have basic needs met.

• • Consider your SAP teams taking on the responsibility to address elevated concerns from mentors

  • Work with your counselors and social workers to come up with indicator questions that demonstrate the need to elevate a student’s situation for increased support.

  • Ensure all staff assigned as mentors have received training on how to deal with difficult situations/questions/information

  • Create a log in which mentors can document contacts/attempted contacts and concerns

  • Ensure there is a process for elevating concerns to be addressed by other staff or community resources

  • Don’t forget mandated reporter requirements if child abuse/endangerment is suspected

• Mentors:

  • Willingness to be a mentor

  • Willingness to persist with students

  • Personal belief that all students/families have abilities and strengths

  • Willingness to cooperate and collaborate with family and school staff

  • Ability to work independently and keep records

• Check-In procedures

  • Identified list of questions and considerations that serve the purpose to both connect and identify potential challenges, for example food insecurity

    • “What did you have for breakfast/lunch/dinner?”

    • “What did you do today?”

    • “What did you learn today?”

    • “Did you struggle with anything today?”

    • “What was hard/easy?”

    • “Is there anything I can help you with?”

Four components:

• Staff “mentor” assigned to students to keep education salient

• Systematic monitoring (checking in with student/family every day)

• Timely and individualized intervention (providing the supports needed)

• Enhancing home-school communication and home support for learning

Core Elements:

• Building relationships, engaging the power of providing a caring and supportive environment

• Problem Solving, providing opportunities for educational success, helping students with personal problems

• Individualized intervention, connecting students with resources (social worker, counselors, community agencies)

• Building/maintaining affiliation with school

• Persistence Plus - providing a persistent source of academic motivation, familiarity with the student and the family, and consistency of the message that education is important

• Mentor focus on alterable indicators of engagement, in other words, checking on whether students are completing whatever tasks are presented, engaging in check-in calls