In looking at Thomas' progress, I saw he had a low average. In looking at the specifics of his grade, I noticed that he was submitting all of his assignments and scoring well on most, but his lab grades were all very low. In looking at the feedback left by the instructor I noticed that he consistently missed portions of the required lab report.

I emailed with his content instructor to ensure that I was reading the feedback correctly and could communicate an appropriate tool to help Thomas moving forward. After talking with the content instructor, I talked to Thomas on the phone. We talked through looking ahead on his schedule for labs to ensure that he has enough time to secure the lab supplies and conduct the experiment. We also discussed the importance of filling in every section of the lab report.

Following our phone call, I sent a follow-up email with a lab template that he should use every time conducting a lab to ensure he doesn't forget a section. After a couple of weeks I checked in on his progress and was happy to see that his lab grades improved resulting in his overall average improving since labs are a large portion of his science grade.

Bella emailed me to share her struggle in writing the lengthy writing portions of the AP course. I looked for additional resources the content teacher had posted on help in writing DBQs. I also looped in the content instructor for guided notes and helped to begin a conversation between the content instructor and the student. By being a conduit of communication, I help the instructor know where the student is coming from and how the student is working. This allowed for the content instructor to better support the student. Many times, I can help create a dialogue between the content instructor and the student which is co-planning and providing areas for growth for the student.

In order to encourage growth from my role as a non-content instructor, I work with students to ensure they are taking advantage of all opportunities afforded to them (especially if they are struggling). I want them first to complete the required assignment. Without my assistance, the way our organization's policies work is if an assignment is more than 10 days late the student does not have the opportunity to complete the assignment and must move on. I believe that when possible, to be flexible and allow the student to complete these missing assignments. I have to work with the student and the content teacher to make a plan to allow for completion of these missing assignments. This is outlined in an example email that I included to Harrison. This is actually much of my role. I encourage teachers to allow for this work to be completed, pointing to the importance of learning and mastering the standards over making the student move on because they missed a deadline. While deadlines are important and there is a limit, when it is reasonable I have to advocate for this opportunity for students.

In addition, near the end of the semester; many students miss the extra learning opportunities (or do not want to take the time to complete them). This is a chance to earn additional points for assignments that they did poorly on the first time around. By communicating with students and making a plan with them, I am encouraging them to go back and revisit the material in order to gain mastery. Included are example emails titled "Final Count Down".