Expanded Check-ins: Positive Climate, part 1

Late fall 2015, Wolcott Elementary School began an expanded check-in program designed to make sure that all students are successful and feel a sense of belonging. Expanded Check-ins are a brief, daily connection between small groups of students and our behavior paraprofessional. Students are selected based on parent concerns, teacher observations, counselor recommendation, or patterns of behavior that suggest some extra attention is in order. A daily check-in will give students a chance for increased, positive connections and interactions – a cheery face with a few minutes to listen and give encouragement. This will give the group one extra dose of attention that should be enough to get them through their day.

Improving climate and student behavior has been a major focus of the last few years at Wolcott Elementary. Now that the fruits of our labor have become apparent, it is time to share what is working. Our positive behavior data looks great, our numbers of discipline cases keeps dropping. There are many factors; this was one.