Sharing the Watch List School-Wide and Inviting Staff to Adopt Students
Authors:
Brian Krause
This improvement idea was created at West McDowell Middle School in Marion, North Carolina. Teachers Brian Krause, Katy Copley, Jeremy Gardin and Principal Nakia Carson were members of the Schools That Lead Cohort Two. Together they are a group referred to as a Network Improvement Community ( NIC) Huddle. They attended the Schools That Lead learning sessions from 2019 to 2022. During that time they collaborated to create this particular idea to improve outcomes for students who had been identified as having concerns in one or more areas (attendance, behavior, course performance). These students were listed on a watchlist and shared with the school's staff. It is important to note that the teachers presented their research and ideas for improvement to their colleagues. The principal intentionally stepped back so this could be a teacher-led initiative.
At the end of the first quarter, we had 218 students on our Watch List. We believed that our staff would want to know and would want to do something to improve the lives of those vulnerable students. We made a plan to share the watch list and invite staff to adopt one or more students on the list.
- We began in a November face-to-face whole faculty meeting led by the teacher-leaders in the Huddle. After sharing the research on Early Warning Indicators, we stressed the message that we can tell now who is off-track for on-time high school graduation. We asked each staff member to quietly picture a student in the school that they thought would be on the watch list. We then shared the watch list digitally with everyone. There was a collective gasp; immediately people wanted to know what they could do to help.
- We made it completely optional for staff. We invited people to adopt one or more students on the list. We emphasized starting small; not overdoing it. Most chose kids they are currently teaching but some chose previous students. Every staff member was included (front office staff, librarian, assistants, etc.).
- We left it up to each adult to connect with the kids they adopted in whatever ways felt right to them. People had personal relationships with the kids they adopted so we did not need to mandate a particular approach.
- We set a goal that 15-20% of students on the watch list would no longer meet those thresholds by winter break.
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Impact
Process Measures:
- 88% of staff chose to participate at the first invitation.
- 100% of the 218 students on the Q1 Watch List were adopted.
Outcome Measures:
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Practical Keys to Success
- Teacher leadership: It was essential that this was not seen as a top-down mandate. The
teachers from the NIC Huddle designed and led the meeting and helped peers process the
information.
“This is only my fifth year of teaching. I am really just coming out of
the Beginning Teacher program. This is the first time I have ever spoken in front of
the faculty. I was nervous. I was concerned it would be ‘one more thing’ but we
started with what they cared about – their students. We are here to make an
impact. We believe this will make an impact.” (B. Krause)
“All I had to do was just say yes. I had go-getters - this
wasn’t my idea – these teachers built the plan and made it happen. I was just
enthusiastic about the work they did.” (N.Carson, Principal)
- Ground it in what people care about: Kids We shared the research about what happens
to kids who are off-track in middle school and that got people’s attention
“There’s a lot of need in our school. People were glad that we were
recognizing it. The research mattered. After that day, I got a lot of interest – people
wanting to get their hands in it.” (K. Copley)
- Make it invitational: It was okay and safe for people to say no or not yet. There is a lot
going on at school and teachers are asked to do so much more right now. It was important
that it be an option and not an expectation.
- Lower the barriers to participation: We made it so that there were no reports or forms
to submit. The West McDowell NIC Huddle is gathered the outcome data.
Measurement Tool
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Measurement
Process Measure: Share and record which teacher adopted which student.
Outcome Measure: Record the number of students on the watch list at the start data. Record the number of students on the watch list at progress report and report card time.
Email us at Schools That Lead to request a sample data collection spreadsheet.
