Bryce is a 7th grade student at Rodriguez Middle School and has been in the CISNT program for two years. He first met Silvia Saju, the CIS Site Coordinator at Rodriguez MS, when he was referred to CIS for basic needs assistance. When Ms. Saju learned more about Bryce and assessed other barriers he was facing in school, she also saw room for growth in his academics and classroom engagement.
Ms. Saju began working with him one-on-one twice a week and worked on equipping him with tools so he could be more engaged in class. However, it was not until the end of the semester when Bryce saw his grades were really low and wanted to do better for himself. Bryce had the internal motivation to work alongside Ms. Saju to find effective ways for him to improve his grades. They worked on goal-setting and laid out action plans for Bryce to achieve these goals. Ms. Saju and Bryce made an agreement that if he came to CIS for tutoring and silent work time and stayed attentive in the classroom, then he would be rewarded for his positive behavior with court time. Ms. Saju says she quickly learned that basketball and her don’t get along and has enlisted coaches and even other students to play with him in the gym.
With the help of Bryce’s community of support, Ms. Saju says he realized that staying engaged in school allows him to get more of the things he’s wanting – more privileges, better grades, and positive experiences at school. By the end of the semester, Bryce was successful in raising his grades and passing the 9-week term. His science teacher raved about Bryce’s progress in class: “Bryce is a rock star! At the beginning of the year, he was one of my most difficult students and by the end of the semester he had become one of my favorite students. He struggles with behavior and decision making sometimes but like most 7th grade boys, he just has those days sometimes. He seems to value student/teacher relationships and puts a lot of value in positive feedback.”
Ms. Saju says “Bryce’s mini victory was with the help of goal-setting, positive teacher/staff relationships, one-on-one attention and constant encouragement. Though we have a ways to go, I am proud of Bryce and his growth and am excited to see what the spring semester holds!”
We are proud of Bryce taking charge of his education and the progress he has made in his academics and relationships at school. CIS works to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and we know Bryce will achieve great things with the community of support he has built at Rodriguez MS.
