Mentors
Check and Connect Program
The Check & Connect mentor program is designed to help students engage in the learning modalities and to stay on track to ultimately graduate from high school. Check & Connect is the only dropout prevention intervention program listed with the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) What Works Clearinghouse that is found to have a positive effect on students thus keeping them in school.
Check & Connect is an evidence-based mentoring intervention for 5th through 12th-grade students who show warning signs of disengagement within school and who are at risk of dropping out. At the core of Check & Connect (C&C) is a trusting relationship between the student and a caring mentor who:
Builds a strong relationship with students based on
mutual trust and open communication focusing on
success at school and with learning.
Systematically “Checks” on students, assessing their
engagement with school and learning through close
monitoring of their attendance, behavior, and grades.
“Connects” with students, offering individualized
intervention in partnership with school personnel,
families, and community service providers.
Partners with parents/families, functioning as a
liaison between home and school and striving to build
constructive family-school relationships.
STUDENT OUTCOMES
Increase in
Attendance
Persistence in school
Credit accrual
School completion rates
Decrease in
Truancy
Tardies
Behavioral referrals
Dropout rates
Meet our Mentors
Robbie Shirah
Middle School Mentor
Sharunda Bloodser
Middle School Mentor
Ashley Hawkins
High School Mentor
Rhona Ali
High School Mentor
Mentor Team
Sharunda Bloodser, Ash Hawkins, Rhona Ali, and Robbie Shiriah.